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Aspects of the present invention provide a gaming method, system and game controller for a game of skill. The result of the game of skill is evaluated to determine whether any potential award value for the game of skill is lost based on the player's skill based result. Potential award value for the

Aspects of the present invention provide a gaming method, system and game controller for a game of skill. The result of the game of skill is evaluated to determine whether any potential award value for the game of skill is lost based on the player's skill based result. Potential award value for the game of skill may be lost as a result of application of the player's skill based result. Any lost potential award value is applied to a prize pool.

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1. A method of gaming in an electronic gaming machine having a credit accepting mechanism configured to accept a physical item associated with a monetary value for establishing a credit balance based on the monetary value, the credit balance being increasable and decreasable based at least on wageri

1. A method of gaming in an electronic gaming machine having a credit accepting mechanism configured to accept a physical item associated with a monetary value for establishing a credit balance based on the monetary value, the credit balance being increasable and decreasable based at least on wagering activity, a payout mechanism configured to cause a payout associated with the credit balance, a game controller, a memory storing data indicative of a plurality of symbols, a random number generator, and a display having a plurality of subsets of display positions, the method comprising: establishing credit balance including receiving the physical item via said credit accepting mechanism;in response to having established the credit balance via the credit accepting mechanism, decreasing the credit balance, and generating via the game controller a first game outcome for a game of chance by randomly selecting via the random number generator a plurality of symbols from a set of symbols from the memory;obtaining via the game controller a player skill based result from play of a game of skill having a potential award value, wherein the game of skill is played at the electronic gaming machine;generating via the game controller a second game outcome by modifying via the game controller the first game outcome based on the player skill based result, wherein said modifying comprises removing via the game controller at least one of the randomly selected plurality of symbols;evaluating via the game controller based on the second game outcome whether the potential award value has been lost, wherein the potential award value is associated with a predefined combination of the selected plurality of symbols, and wherein a potential award value is lost when at least one symbol making up a predefined combination is removed through said play of said game of skill;allocating via the game controller the lost potential award value to a prize pool; andin response to evaluating that the potential award value has not been lost, increasing via the game controller the credit balance; andcausing via the payout mechanism an initiation of a payout associated with at least a portion of the credit balance. 2. A method as claimed in claim 1 further comprising determining an additional award value payable in addition to any award value that has been won based on the skill based result based on a total prize pool value. 3. A method as claimed in claim 2 wherein the additional award value is a portion of the prize pool. 4. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein, when all of the potential award value has been lost, the whole potential award value is allocated to the prize pool and no award is payable to the player for the player skill based result. 5. A method as claimed in claim 1 having more than one prize pool. 6. A method as claimed in claim 5 having one prize pool corresponding to each possible winning outcome having an associated potential award value for the game of skill, wherein, when a winning outcome is lost, the award value associated with the lost winning outcome is allocated to the corresponding prize pool and an additional award value is determined for each winning outcome based on a total prize pool value of the prize pool corresponding to the winning outcome. 7. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the potential award value is displayed to the player prior to playing the game of skill to provide the skill based result. 8. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the potential award value is revealed to the player during play of the game of skill. 9. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the potential award value is revealed to the player after playing the game of skill. 10. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the game of skill is based on a Tetris game. 11. A gaming system comprising: a credit accepting mechanism configured to accept a physical item associated with a monetary value for establishing a credit balance, the credit balance being increasable and decreasable based at least on wagering activity;a memory storing data indicative of a plurality of symbols;a random number generator;a player interface configured to receive game play instructions from a player and including a display for displaying a game in response to said credit balance having been established;a game of chance controller, in response to having established the credit balance via the credit accepting mechanism receiving the physical item, configured to decrease the credit balance, and to execute play of a game of chance to generate a first game outcome by randomly selecting via the random number generator a plurality of symbols from the memory;a game of skill controller configured to execute play of a game of skill, having a potential award value, in response to player instructions to produce a player skill based result;a game outcome modifier configured to generate a second game outcome by modifying the first game outcome based on the player skill based result, wherein said modifying comprises removing at least one of the randomly selected plurality of symbols;an outcome evaluator configured to use the second game outcome to evaluate whether any potential award value for the skill based game has been lost, wherein the potential award value is associated with a predefined combination of the selected plurality of symbols, and wherein a potential award value is lost when at least one symbol making up a predefined combination is removed through said play of said game of skill;a prize manager configured to allocate the lost potential award value to a prize pool, and, in response to evaluating that the potential award value has not been lost, increase the credit balance;a payout mechanism configured to cause an initiation of a payout associated with at least a portion of the credit balance; anda display controller configured to control display of the execution and result of the game of skill. 12. A system as claimed in claim 11 wherein the prize manager is further configured to determine an additional award value payable in addition to any award value that has been won based on the skill based result and based on a total prize pool value. 13. A system as claimed in claim 12 wherein the additional award value is a portion of the prize pool. 14. A system as claimed in claim 11 wherein when all of the potential award value has been lost, the prize manager is further configured to allocate the whole potential award value to the prize pool and pay no award to the player for the player skill based result. 15. A system as claimed in claim 14 having one prize pool corresponding to each possible winning outcome having an associated potential award value for the game of skill, wherein, when a winning outcome is lost, the award value associated with the lost winning outcome is allocated to the corresponding prize pool, and an additional award value is determined for each winning outcome based on a total prize pool value of the prize pool corresponding to the winning outcome. 16. A system as claimed in claim 11 having more than one prize pool. 17. A system as claimed in claim 11 wherein the display controller is further configured to control display of the potential award value. 18. A system as claimed in claim 17 wherein the potential award value is displayed to the player prior to playing the game of skill. 19. A system as claimed in claim 17 wherein the potential award value is displayed to the player during play of the game of skill. 20. A system as claimed in claim 17 wherein the potential award value is displayed to the player after play of the game of skill. 21. A system as claimed in claim 11 wherein the game of skill is based on a Tetris game. 22. A game controller for use with an electronic gaming machine having a credit accepting mechanism configured to accept a physical item associated with a monetary value for establishing a credit balance based on the monetary value, the credit balance being increasable and decreasable based at least on wagering activity, a payout mechanism configured to cause a payout associated with the credit balance, a memory storing data indicative of a plurality of symbols, a random number generator, and a display having a plurality of subsets of display positions, the game controller comprising: a game of chance controller, in response to having established the credit balance via the credit accepting mechanism receiving the physical item, configured to decrease the credit balance, and to execute play of a game of chance to generate a first game outcome by randomly selecting via the random number generator a plurality of symbols from a set of symbols from the memory in response to said credit balance having been established;a game of skill controller configured to execute play of a game of skill having a potential award value in response to player instructions to produce a player skill based result;a game outcome modifier configured to generate a second game outcome by modifying the first game outcome based on the player skill based result, wherein said modifying comprises removing at least one of the randomly selected plurality of symbols;an outcome evaluator configured to evaluate the second game outcome to determine whether the potential award value has been lost, wherein the potential award value is associated with a predefined combination of the selected plurality of symbols, and wherein a potential award value is lost when at least one symbol making up a predefined combination is removed through said play of said game of skill; anda prize manager configured to allocate the lost award value to a prize pool, and, in response to evaluating that the potential award value has not been lost, increase the credit balance; andwherein the payout mechanism is configured to cause an initiation of a payout associated with at least a portion of the credit balance. 23. A game controller as claimed in claim 22 wherein the prize manager is further configured to determine an additional award value payable in addition to any award value that has been won based on the skill based result based on a total prize pool value. 24. A game controller as claimed in claim 23 wherein the additional award value is a portion of the prize pool. 25. A game controller as claimed in claim 22 wherein, when all of the potential award value has been lost, the prize manager is further configured to allocate the whole potential award value to the prize pool and pay no award to the player for the player skill based result. 26. A game controller as claimed in claim 22 having more than one prize pool. 27. A game controller as claimed in claim 26 having one prize pool corresponding to each possible winning outcome having an associated potential award value for the skill based game, wherein, when a winning outcome is lost the award value associated with the lost winning outcome is allocated to the corresponding prize pool, and an additional award value is determined for each winning outcome based on a prize pool value of the prize pool corresponding to the winning outcome. 28. A game controller as claimed in claim 22 further comprising a display controller configured to control display of the execution and result of the game of skill. 29. A game controller as claimed in claim 28 wherein the display controller is further configured to control display of the potential award value. 30. A game controller as claimed in claim 29 wherein the potential award value is displayed to the player prior to playing the game of skill. 31. A game controller as claimed in claim 29 wherein the potential award value is displayed to the player during play of the game of skill. 32. A game controller as claimed in claim 29 wherein the potential award value is displayed to the player after play of the game of skill. 33. A game controller as claimed in claim 22 wherein the game of skill is based on a Tetris game. 34. A method of gaming at an electronic gaming machine having a credit accepting mechanism configured to accept a physical item associated with a monetary value for establishing a credit balance based on the monetary value, the credit balance being increasable and decreasable based at least on wagering activity, a payout mechanism configured to cause a payout associated with the credit balance, a game controller, a memory storing data indicative of a plurality of symbols, a random number generator, and a display, the method comprising: establishing credit balance including receiving the physical item via said credit accepting mechanism;in response to having established the credit balance via the credit accepting mechanism, decreasing the credit balance, and generating via the game controller a first game outcome for a game of chance by randomly selecting via the random number generator a plurality of symbols from a set of symbols from the memory, wherein the plurality of symbols for the first game outcome are displayed at a plurality of positions on the display of the electronic gaming machine;obtaining via the game controller a player skill based result from play of a game of skill at the electronic gaming machine;modifying via the game controller based on the skill based result the first game outcome to generate a second game outcome, wherein said modifying comprises removing via the game controller at least one of the randomly selected plurality of symbols from at least one of the plurality of positions on the display;evaluating via the game controller based on the second game outcome whether the potential award value has been lost, wherein the potential award value is associated with a predefined combination of the selected plurality of symbols, and wherein a potential award value is lost when at least one symbol making up a predefined combination is removed through said play of said game of skill, wherein, when the potential award value is lost, it is allocated a prize pool; andin response to evaluating that the potential award value has not been lost, increasing via the game controller the credit balance; andcausing via the payout mechanism an initiation of a payout associated with at least a portion of the credit balance. 35. A method as claimed in claim 34 wherein the game of skill is based on a Tetris game. 36. A method as claimed in claim 35 wherein the selected symbols are selected from a plurality of symbol sets representative of symbols on spinning reels, wherein the symbols are selected for display in the active display positions based on reel stop positions. 37. A gaming system comprising: a credit accepting mechanism configured to accept a physical item associated with a monetary value for establishing a credit balance, the credit balance being increasable and decreasable based at least on wagering activity;a memory storing data indicative of a plurality of symbols;a random number generator;a player interface configured to receive game play instructions from a player in response to said credit balance having been established, wherein the player interface includes a display for displaying game outcome and prize information to the player;a game of chance controller configured to execute play of a game of chance to generate a first game outcome by randomly selecting via the random number generator a plurality of symbols from a set of symbols from the memory for display at a plurality of display positions of the display;a game of skill controller configured to execute play of a game of skill in response to player instructions to produce a player skill based result having a potential award value;a game modifier configured to generate a second game outcome by modifying the first game outcome based on the player skill based result, wherein said modifying comprises removing at least one of the randomly selected plurality of symbols from at least one of the plurality of display positions of the display; andan outcome evaluator configured to evaluate the second game outcome to determine whether the potential award value has been lost, wherein the potential award value is associated with a predefined combination of the selected plurality of symbols, and wherein a potential award value is lost when at least one symbol making up a predefined combination is removed through said play of said game of skill, and to allocate an award accordingly; anda payout mechanism is configured to cause an initiation of a payout associated with at least a portion of the credit balance. 38. A system as claimed in claim 37 wherein the game of skill is based on a Tetris game. 39. A system as claimed in claim 38 wherein the game of chance controller selects symbols from a plurality of symbol sets representative of symbols on spinning reels, wherein the symbols are selected for display in the active display positions based on reel stop positions.