A gaming machine for providing a skill-based wagering game to a player is described herein. The gaming machine includes a controller programmed to display the skill-based wagering game on a display device, receive a signal indicating a wager being received from the player, and initiate the skill-based wagering game. The controller generates a skill event associated with the skill-based wagering game and randomly selects a skill event record associated with the skill event from a database. The controller receives a player's selection input from a user input device in response to the displayed skill event, determines a player skill level value based on the received player's selection, determines an award value included in the selected skill event record based on the player skill level value; and adjusts the credit balance based on the determined award value.