When people think Free Spins, people think Scatters, but in today’s Online Casino industry, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Traditionally, Scatters are symbols that pay, you guessed it, when scattered on the screen. They were invented in the mid 1900s and it meant that the need for the symbol to be on a pay line, like the regular symbols, was removed. For the player, the invention of Scatters meant that suddenly, the fourth and the fifth reel on a five reel slot could add some excitement even if you didn’t have a win on the first three.

In the World of Online Casino and Video Slots, the Scatter has a cemented position among Symbols. From the invention of the Scatter, it has fought against the Wild for the title “Most Coveted Symbol”.  Nowadays, the word Scatter is generally only used in the Pay table or in the Rules of the Slot. The symbol itself will be called a Bonus symbol or just have FREE SPINS written in caps on it. We guess the Game makers started getting scared that people didn’t understand what “Scatters” meant and just went for the obvious way of making sure people understood what the symbol does.

This article is completely dedicated to the wonderful world of Free Spins Features and how to activate them. In other articles, we will cover Re-spins, like in Starburst from Netent, but for now, lets dig deeper into Scatters.

True Scatters

First off, lets discuss what we like to call True Scatters. These are Scatters which can land on all reels, and give you a set of Free Spins when you hit more than one. Most of these kind of slots will award a different amount

Some of the Online Slots utilizing “True Scatters” pay you a coin win, should you get two of them, whilst others might offer secondary draw or re-spin in order to try to get the third one. This is however more common in slots with Limited Scatters.

Here are some great games using True Scatters:

• Bonanza from Big Time Gaming – six reels means a max potential of six scatters. However, to get the free spins you need at least four.
• Buffalo Rising Megaways from Blue Print Gaming
• Raging Rhino Megaways from Scientific Games

Limited Scatters

Besides the true Scatters, there are slots where the Game Provider have symbols that start the free spins when landing scattered, but they limited the reels they can appear on. This is normally used in Slots with several different features, for example a Bonus Pick and Click game and a Free Spins Feature.  In these cases, the Scatter symbol can only land on three of the five reels. The chosen reels are generally any of the following three sets of reels:

• Reel 1, 3, and 5
• On Reel 2,3,4
• Or on Reel 3,4,5

If there are more than five reels, the set up can be different. The idea of Limited Scatters is that they are not present on all Scatters. Here are some great slots slots with limited Scatters.

• Drive from Netent, where the scatters can land on reel two, three and four.
• White Rabbit from Big Time Gaming – where the Rabbit which is the scatter can only land on reel 2,3 and 4.
• Wild Falls from PlaynGo – Where the scatter symbol (chests) can fall down on reel 2,3 and 4.

They call us Bonus Symbols

In some Online Slots, the provider have chosen to forego the whole fact that Free Spins should be awarded from Scatter symbols and Scatter symbols should pay scattered!

Bonus Symbols, specially when they have the requirement that they need to be on a payline, can lead to many angry and disappointing moments. Of course, would can get two scatters on the first two reels and not get a third one at all, but there is something horrible about seeing three Bonus symbols on the screen and not getting the Free Spins. Your brain is cheering and then suddenly you realize your mistake and boom. From Hero to Zero in one second.

So… In our book… Free Spins should be awarded by Scatters, or maybe as you will soon learn, Wilds posing as Scatters…

To the defense of Bonus symbols though, there are some of them that actually work more like Limited Scatters rather than having the requirement of being on a pay line. Furthermore, in most games where the symbol has to be on a pay line, the Wild symbol will substitute for the Bonus symbol.

There are great slots where the Free Spins only activate if you get the Bonus symbols on a payline. One of our all time favourites here is Gonzo’s Quest from Netent. However, here are a few others with this kind of set up:

• Sakura from Quickspin, where the stacked Wilds will help you into the bonus game.

Wilds as Scatter Symbols? Stop the Presses!

In most Online Slots, Wilds substitute for all symbols, except the Scatters symbol. That is of course only applicable when there are both Wilds and Scatter symbols. In some games, the Game provider has done the unimaginable. They have merged the Wild and the Scatter symbol into one! Some call it an abomination, others say it was inevitable. It does bring to mind the quote from Jeff Goldblum in Jurassic Park:

“Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.”

In other areas, the Slotmad team can be scattered, but in this case we unite. Wilds can be Scatters and Scatters can be wild! If a Wild wants to be called a Scatter, that is up to that Wild, and no one should come and tell it differently!

Some examples of slots we have reviewed with Wilds as Scatters symbols are:

• Book of Dead from PlaynGo, one of the most popular slots of 2018 and 2019.
• Dolphin’s Pearl deluxe from Novomatic
• Falcon Huntress from Thunderkick

Stacked Free Spins Symbols

The fifth way we have found to activate the Free Spins feature through Scatters symbols are the Stacked Free Spins Symbols. In some games, the aim is to literally fill the whole screen with stacked free spins symbols. Spontaneously as a player, hitting the free spins feature this way feels completely random. Now, you might think: Shouldn’t it always feel completely random? Well no, sometimes we want the randomness to feel predetermined! In the end, feelings and faith are not always equal to effect and facts. These slots are of course just as random as other slots.

Here are some great slots to try if you like to hit those stacked free spins.

• Hold your Horses from Green Tube – Where when you fill up the first reel with a stack of Bonus symbols, the reels respin until you add no more bonus symbols or until you have filled it up completely.
• Showdown Saloon from Microgaming and Fortune Factory Studios. The Free spins start when you hit either 3×3, 3×4 or 3×5 stacks Free Spins symbols.
• Ninja Ways from Red Tiger Gaming where the Free Spins Feature is activated after getting five or more free spins symbols.

Collection Free Spins

Guaranteed Free Spins! That is one thing every Slot player wants to hear. However, as always, there is a catch, and that is that you can never get the feature on your first spin. It is literally impossible. However, when you have caught and collected the symbols, the catch is no longer a problem.

One of Slotmad’s all time favourite Slots when it comes to collection based free spins is Scrooge from Microgaming. Based on the classic novel, A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens. In this game,  you start on the first of December. Every win will either get you one day closer to Chrismas Day or One more Free Spin. The total amount of collected Free Spins will then be paid out when you reach the 25th of December. The hit rate in this game is quite high, and it feels like close to every other spin you will get a win.

Another special slot is Tower Quest from PlaynGo. In this Online slot, the idea is to collect Mana or Health potions and once filled up the free spins features will start. It is a slot very similar to Heartstone, a card game from Blizzard.

Other Unique Ways of getting into the Free Spins Feature

We hope you have learnt a lot about Scatters and Bonus symbols, as we will now move into the more obscure ways of getting into the free spins.

Wins in a Row

In some avalanche slots, the idea is to get as many reactions as possible and if you manage a certain amount, you are in the free spins. Examples of slots that work like this is Crystal Forest, where you need to win four or more times in a row. This will award between 7 and 50 free spins depending on how many chain reactions occurred. Seven are awarded if you hit four reaction and if you make it all the way to eight wins in the same spin, you’ve got the maximum of 50 free spins heading your way.

Special Symbols

Other games have a surprise feature to get into the free spins. In many Yggdrasil games, for example Vikings Go Wild, there is a Chest present which can land on the fifth reel. If this chest hits, you get a random spin where you can win Coin wins or activate the Free Spins right away.

In Fire Fly Frenzie, a five reel slot from PlaynGo, the aim of the game is to land the Fire Fly on the Moon to trigger the Frenzy Spins. Yes, we understand how weird that sounds. It is not as weird though.

Conclusion

Wow, before we started writing this article, we didn’t realize how many different “Scatters” there are out there. We started discussing, and then just more and more examples of different ways of getting into the free spins were brought up. So many in fact that we had to make a post about it, and we probably still forgot a few.

We all get disappointed when we get three Bonus Wheel symbols on the first three reels in Gonzo’s Quest, only to notice that they were not on a line and you’re paid nothing. But remember, whether your Bonus symbols do not line up, you miss your third scatter or the Fire Fly doesn’t land on the moon; It is not because of the Game, it is because of your bad luck. you wouldn’t have gotten the free spins anyway.  In the end, we all have our favourite way of getting into the free spins feature. Play the slots you like most and if there is a way that just gets on your nerves too much, stay away from that slot!

We suggest signing up at and trying out Scatters Casino, because with that name, they should definitely be the experts on this subject!

What to check out next at Slotmad!

If you like to play (or watch) slots and enjoy discussing all sorts including the state of the latest slot releases etc then join in with us on twitch. We’d definitely love to have you along.

Find out more here:

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Flower Fortunes MegaWays

Dr Fortuno from Yggdrasil

The Sword and the Grail

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Scatters Casino has further enhanced its reputation as an outstanding player-friendly casino by integrating the Unibo Gamification suite alongside their current loyalty program.

Scatters is now offering frequent tournaments, Missions, challenges and local jackpots.

We take a look at each type of campaign below:

Tournaments

Not all tournaments are created equally. Incredibly many still require that you exit the game page to check your progress. When they don’t the tournament window is frequently cumbersome and gets in the way of your gameplay.

Not with Unibo tournaments we’re happy to say.

You can choose to have the tournament module open at the side of the game (it resizes the game window of course but on the majority of screens it works perfectly.

If you’re on a very small screen or you prefer to see the game no problem you can toggle show/no show on the tournament module and without leaving the game you can quickly check on your status.

At all times you’ll see the leaders and your position in the overall rankings.

Tournaments offer a range of prizes and of course are offered at no additional cost to the player.

Missions and challenges

Slots are great fun, we are of course massive fans. However, they can become a bit repetitive, especially with the amount of high volatility slots out there. That tends to mean big gaps between wins and after a while a sense of detachment or boredom. That’s not the most entertaining experience.

Unibo offers missions such as

• Play 50 spins on a certain slot or range of slots.
• Get 2 wins in a row
• Get 3 losses in a row
• Get 3 big wins in 100 spins

Adding more events and incentives makes for a much more exciting game experience and means that you won’t become bored – regardless of how the slot is performing.

It’s free of course and it’s a fabulous way to enhance your casino experience.

Once again it’s all in-game and you won’t be forced to leave the game to check your progress – you don’t even have to keep track or keep checking as you’ll receive alerts in the form of illuminated icons pressing you to check-in or announcing a completed achievement and reward.

Promotional Jackpots

Quite a few slots offer a Jackpot option these days but are you aware that the jackpot is funded by you the player and no the casino or game companies? That’s how they can reach as high as millions of Euros.

Every time you play a standard jackpot game somewhere between 4 and 8% of your bet isn’t actually a bet placed on the spin it goes straight to the jackpot fund.

Now that makes for eye-catching prize pools and life-changing amounts but unless you are only chasing that big win it’s no the best use of your gaming bankroll.

With Unibo jackpots you can get a jackpot boost on any slot and at no cost to you. The casino pays for the jackpot rather than you. Seems fair to us!

Of course the jackpots are likely to be much lower but you have a far higher chance of dropping one and 100% of your money is going into each spin, thus increasing your overall win potential.

Scatters is already a great casino – with the addition of Unibo you’d be hard pressed to find a better place to play.

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The popularity of Video Poker was often due to the “close to 100%” RTP often offered by Casinos. In fact, some machines could clock over 100% RTP at perfect play. With the dawn of the internet came an explosion of free guides to teach players how to play the game perfectly.

Video Poker games are still very popular when you go to a brick and mortar Casino. We found some revenue statistics for 2013, showing Video Poker revenues at 300 million dollars in Illinois in the US alone! However, when you look online, Video Poker is one of those side games that never get much attention. On top of the lack of player enthusiasm, the games are often excluded from any play with Bonus money. Any players who might have wanted to give Video Poker a go, will surely choose not to if they can’t use their bonus there.

Deuces Wild or Jacks or Better? What should I play?

When it comes to variations of Video Poker, there are too many to count. We went to review Scatters Casino, and found a huge range of different Video Pokers. We decided to try some different versions out. Here are just some of the versions of Video Poker they had at Scatters. Deuces Wild, Double Bonus Poker, Double Joker Poker, Five Draw Poker, Joker Poker… The list goes on and on. Then when you think you are finished, you can add one, five, ten, twenty, fifty and hundred hand versions of many of the mentioned niched video poker games.

However, two variations stand out from the rest and have stood the test of time: Jacks or Better and Deuces Wild. In the first, there are usually no Jokers present whilst in Deuces Wild, all twos are Wild and substitute for any card. Here at Slotmad, we are torn whether Jacks or Better (or it’s lesser known brother “Tens or Better“) or Deuces Wild should take home the “Best Video Poker Game”. By torn, we mean within the team, as everyone either have their own favourite or are too young to know the beauty of a land-based Video Poker machine.

What is the most important thing to watch out for?

Pay schedules! Always check the pay schedules to see what kind of return to player the game is offering. Some Video poker games slightly lower the payouts of high hands so that the Casino earns more money in the long run. The highest paying Video Poker machine out there have a return to player of 99.96%, but these are very rare and far apart. Here are some examples of Return to Player figures:

• Joker Poker by PlaynGo – 93.95% (95.01% at max bet)
• Deuces Wild by Betsoft – 98.91%
• Jacks or Better by Netent – 99.56%

It is true in the case above and it is true in life; do not always go for the better looking alternative.

Did Online Poker take all the poker traffic, and where did it go after Poker?

Online Poker had a huge boom in the early 2000s when seemingly everyone and their dog were playing Poker online. First people started getting really good, and then people started getting really good software. That’s when most small players said, enough is enough, and went to other forms of entertainment. However, it doesn’t seem like Video Poker was the game picking up the traffic. Maybe they all went to slots. If our own Andy is to be used as a rule, this is definitely true. Video Poker used to be all he played, but since he found the slots he hasn’t looked back.

If you are a Video Poker aficionado, we suggest you sign up to Scatters Casino today. Their range of different poker games rivals most we have seen.

What to check out next at Slotmad!

If you like to play (or watch) slots and enjoy discussing all sorts including the state of the latest slot releases etc then join in with us on twitch. We’d definitely love to have you along. Take a look at the info on our Casino Streaming page

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Black Gold Megaways by Stakelogic

Gods of Olympus Megaways by Blueprint Gaming

Temple Tumble Megaways by Relax Gaming

Our article on whether Scatters are better than Wilds

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For the sake of definition, a Scatter symbol is a symbol where three or more (most of the time) will earn you a Free Spins or Bonus round. Wilds are the classic symbols which substitute all other symbols, except Scatters.

As our field of battle, we have chosen seven new and/or popular video slots and will compare both the base game and the feature, if there is one. We will decide whether you want to get Scatters or Wilds in each stage. The chosen slots are:

• Bonanza by Big Time Gaming – The start of the Megaways franchise. An iconic slot that is loved by many.
• Book of Dead by PlaynGo – A given candidate on the list of popular slots.
• Starburst by Netent – A classic by today’s standards that has been very popular for many years.
• Dead or Alive II by Netent – The sequel to the classic Dead or Alive (DoA) slot, also by Netent. Youtube has lots of clips of huge winnings on this slot already.
• Razor Shark by Push Gaming – An online slot that bites back.
• Immortal Romance by Microgaming – One of the most iconic online slots where the skin is maybe even more popular than the original (Thunderstruck II).
• Knight’s Life by Merkur – A classic slot where we had one of our largest wins ever. Yes, we know, this is a quite biased choice.

Bonanza

This great game by Big Time Gaming is quickly becoming an all-time classic with it’s extreme volatility and massive win potential. In this game, the Scatters are represented by G O L D symbols, and if you are lucky enough to get more than four, you get +5 free spins for each extra. During the free spins, the Scatters are limited to the horizontal reel, kind of almost removing the “Scatter” part of the symbol. Wilds on the other hand are helpful to increase the multiplier during free spins. However, they are themselves also limited to the horizontal reel, both in the base game and the free spins feature.

Clear winner in this game is the Scatter symbol.

Check out our review of Bonanza by Big Time Gaming here.

Book of Dead

PlaynGo probably didn’t even grasp the massive success that Book of Dead would become when they sat down and decided to pay homage to Book of Ra by Novomatic. Crisp graphics, familiar sounds and the crazy notion that Scatters and Wilds are the same thing all combine to make this one of the most popular slots in today’s world of online casinos. This is one slot where getting retriggers is of course a great thing, but getting five of a kind of the special expanding symbol is by far the thing you hope for the most.

This one goes down as a dead heat between our contestants. All Scatters are Wilds, and all Wilds are Scatters.

Review of Book of Dead by PlaynGo can be read here.

Starburst

This extremely popular slot by Netent is built all around Wilds. The player can’t win free spins at all. In this online slot, Wilds even slightly act like Scatters and give a Re-Spin when hit. Sneaky bastards those Wilds.

Wilds win hands down due to Scatters not even showing up for the race.

Read our review of Starburst by Netent here.

Dead of Alive II

Dead or Alive was one of the most volatile slots Netent had in their portfolio. Many years went by without a sequel, but then in 2019 they finally released the sequel. The volatility of Dead or Alive II makes the first one seem like child’s play. When browsing Youtube big win videos, the slot is already present with massive wins of 45 000 times the stake or even more.

In the base game of this slot, it is all about getting Scatters. They are few and far between, but once you get three of them, the stage is set for the Wilds to make their entrance. In the three different Free Spins Features, everything is about the Wilds. Scatters are even removed from the reels completely when the Free Spins start.

This is one of those slots where Wilds and Scatters work together. One alone cannot bring home the bacon. It’s like Yin and Yang.

Check our review of Dead or Alive II by Netent.

Razor Shark

Push Gaming’s new slot Razor Shark keeps you on the edge of your seat when spinning away. It is a 20 line, five reel, four row slot machine. Never a dull moment with this feature-packed slot. Scatters and Wilds are both present, but Scatters take this down as being the best symbols in this game. Three Scatters get you into the Free Spins feature and additional Scatters during the free spins will lead to higher Multipliers. Wilds do not play an extended role in this slot. Five of a kind pays twice that of the highest paying symbol, but that is about it.

Scatters win!

Read our review of Razor Shark by Push Gaming here.

Immortal Romance

This classic online slot from Microgaming is a reskin of Thunderstruck II, but has since reached levels of popularity dwarfing the original. Wilds do offer a doubling of any wins, but the Scatter Symbol is the name of the game in the Base game, because it offers the only way to get into the Free Spins features. Once in, there are four features to unlock, each offering a different free spins setup. Depending of which feature is picked, the Wilds and Scatters play different roles. Sarah, Michael, Amber and Troy each have their own free spins, similar or even identical to the ones presented by the Norse gods of Thunderstruck 2.

Scatters get you into the free spins, so that is half of the work right there. Then it depends on your preferences. If you love the Amber feature, where every win pays 5x and thus 10x when together with a wild, the wilds get quite interesting. It is also one of the features where the free spins can be retriggered.

This one is a tough one, but our conclusion is that Scatters win by a small margin on this one.

Check out our review of Immortal Romance by Microgaming.

Knight’s Life

Another classic slot is Knight’s Life by Merkur. This slot is extremely volatile and it is almost all in the Free Spins feature. The Scatter symbol is the armoured horse, which brings you 10, 15 or 30 free games. In free game six to ten, the wins are doubled and after that winnings are tripled. Two or more scatters during the free spins retriggers more free spins. The more free spins you play, the more symbols turn Wild. Starting with only Merlin, the Wild symbol, being wild and adding wilds to each reel as free games are played. After you have played fifteen free game, all three Knights are wild on all five reels until the end.

We think Scatters win this one by a hair. Even though Wilds will be the ones getting you the big wins, it is the Scatters which keep adding more wilds to the reels.

Check out our review of Knight’s Life by Merkur

Conclusion of whether Scatters or Wilds are best?

It is very hard to say conclusively whether Scatters are better than Wilds. In some slots, it is easy to determine if one is better than the other, but in most slots we found that Scatters and Wilds are intertwined. They are either both the same, or they work together to bring you that big win. In our brief, not scientific what so ever, comparison of slots, we noticed the best result when Scatters and Wilds work together. Scatters might get you in to the free spins, but Wilds gets you paid. Maybe something for game providers to think about?

Check out our review of two new shining stars on the online Casino heaven:

• Wildz Casino Review – An online casino launched in the summer of 2019, smashing it!
• Scatters Casino review – Opened their doors in October 2019, quickly becoming a known brand in the industry. Don’t need the review? Try the site right away here.

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Have you never wondered why almost every other slot machine out there uses Ace, King, Queen, Jack and Ten as their low paying symbols? Why is it that? To figure this out, we need to learn more about the history of the Playing Cards. Then we’ll travel back to US in the 1890s and the invention of the first Gambling Machines.

The History of the Royals in Playing Cards

The court cards in English packs of playing cards derive from models produced by Pierre Marechal in Rouen around 1565. A pack of such cards is preserved in the museum at Rouen where all four kings in the pack wear a crown over a flat cap, and long fur-lined cloaks opening to reveal stockinged legs. Likewise, the Queens and Jacks are undoubtedly the ancestors of the English pack. The Rape of the Lock by Alexander Pope from 1712, is one of the earliest literary pieces about playing cards and their usage as “Combatants on the Velvet plain”.

Behold four Kings in majesty rever’d,
With hoary whiskers and a forky beard;
And four fair Queens whose hands sustain a flower,
Th’ expressive emblem of their softer power;
Four Knaves in garbs succinct, a trusty band,
Caps on their heads, and halberts in their hand;
And party-colour’d troops, a shining train,
Drawn froth to combat on the velvet plain.

Rape of the Lock, Canto III by Alexander Pope

Royals in Slots – Were they first?

There is an argument around which was the first ever slot machine. Some consider Sittman and Pitt’s Poker Card Machine from 1891, the first mechanical gambling machine. It used five revolving drums with 50 card faces. Players would insert a nickel and pull a lever, which would spin the drums. The player then hoped to hit a good poker hand. There was no direct payout mechanism, so a pair of kings might get the player a free beer, and a royal flush could pay out cigars or drinks.

The prizes themselves were wholly dependent on what was on offer at the local establishment. To make the odds better for the house, two cards were typically removed from the deck: the ten of spades and the jack of hearts, thus halving the risk of the player’s hitting a royal flush. The drums could also be rearranged to further reduce a player’s chance of winning. Responsible gambling and Government licensing hadn’t fully come in to effect yet. Brings us back to when gambling came to the internet. Wild, Wild, West…

So what is the reason that Playing cards where chosen? Well the reason is quite simple and straightforward – Familiarity.  In this piece on “What Triggers Gambling?” by Unibo, we learned that amongst other things, Familiarity is a key driver when people get triggered to gamble.

Here are some examples of our beautiful, beloved Royals in action. Gods of Olympus, Pixies of the Forest and Lightning Strike MegaWays all sport our fine Royals. In fact, most Megaways games have Royals.

Suit up!

The first ever Slot Machine is also argued by some to be the Liberty Bell, from somewhere between 1887 and 1895. Instead of cards and five reels, it had five different symbols and only three reels.  It used the Suits as well as Bells and Horseshoes as paying symbols. The argument that this machine was the first ever slot machine is that the poker card machine should not be considered a true slot machine as it could not pay out any money but rather physical prizes or drink coupons. Technically, the suits were present on both the Liberty Bell and Sittman and Pitt’s Poker Card Machine, so Suits either predates or at least released simultaneously as Royals. Either way, Suits and Royals are both an integral part of Slots, and most likely will be for a long time.

Some game providers have taken it upon themselves to actively never use Royals. One of these are Yggdrasil, where you will not find any of the slots with Ace, King, Queen, Jack or Tens. Their management has often shown a clear distaste for the Royals. We don’t know why, but maybe it has something to do with the real Royals of the world.

Fruits! They’re everywhere!

After the slot machine were invented in the late 1800s, there was a surge in popularity and in 1907, Herbert Mills, a Chicago manufacturer of arcade machines, began production of a slot machine, a knock-off of Fey’s Liberty Bell, called the Operator Bell. Mills was the first person to place fruit symbols: i.e. lemons, plums, and cherries on machines. He also coined the term “If Life gives you lemons, that’s a win!”. Actually, he didn’t but it sounds like something he could have said right?

Fruits in Online and Offline slots nowadays look more stunning, but the same fruits are still around today. Cherries, Grapes, Watermelons, Lemons etc… Fun to see that after over 100 years, the classic fruits are still keeping it’s place, front and center in the world of slots. Inferno Joker from Play n Go sports some stunning looking fruits.

Some games go the extra mile to get new fruits into our hearts. Fruit warp from Thunderkick is one such game with a totally unique game play. Dragonfruit, Kiwano Melon (had you heard this name before?) and Star fruit joins the ranks of Cherries, Grapes and Plums. Check out our review of Fruit Warp here.

Coins won’t get you minted

Soon enough, the Coins made their appearance in landbased slots, because what is more indicative of a win than coins?  However, coins are almost always low paying symbols, so you’re not getting a withdrawal from them any time soon. Unless you have some mad multiplier going in a Megaways game or similar. We cannot think of one that has coins as low paying symbols.

Want some Win-Both-Ways action with coins? Miss the good old days when Arnold Schwarzenegger could barely speak English? Have a look at Conan the Online Slot from Netent, released this year.

Vikings go Wild and Vikings go Berzerk from Yggdrasil are two examples where coins have been favored over the more classic Suits and Royals.

I know, lets use Gems!

Gems have for a long time been an integral part of slot machines. This one is a bit of a wild in the book of symbols as it is not easy to place it. Royals and Suits are much easier, they are never going to be a High paying symbol. But Gems are different, often playing the part of a low paying symbol in one game, whilst in the next a diamond is the highest payer.

What will they come up with next?

Dragon’s Fire MegaWays from Red Tiger Gaming has something resembling Gems. They might call them Dragon’s eggs, but are they fooling anyone?

Low paying symbols related to the Theme itself

In some slots, the Game producer are creative enough to design completely new symbols. Ecuador Gold from Elk Studios and Acorn Pixie are two more slots where the low paying symbols are  symbols related to the theme. In the case of Ecuador Gold, there are ancient Mayan symbols and in Acorn Pixie there are mushrooms, ladybugs and more. One must be careful doing this as it can get confusing for the player if you are not careful. Elements from Netent is a good example where the low and high paying symbols can get confusing. If that happens, you’ll lose the element of surprise!

One of our own all time favorite Christmas slots is Scrooge. For low paying symbols, it uses clearly distinct symbols such as the Book, the Clock, the Vault and the Money bag. All displayed on a beige background.

Cashbug from Scientific Games… Seriously? Fruit Warp with a death wish.

Let’s just say “Bye Bye” to the Box

Some game providers just says “f*ck it” and goes with whatever symbols they want. Consistency and familiarity are thrown out the window. Anarchy and Madness enters.

Thunderkick takes home the prize though. We don’t even know what to call this. The team coming up with these slots must have been on some serious shit, or maybe even Lucid Dreaming… Have a look at some of their other wacky slots here.

What to check out next at Slotmad!

If you like to play (or watch) slots and enjoy discussing all sorts including the state of the latest slot releases etc then join in with us on twitch. We’d definitely love to have you along.

Find out more here:

Take a look at the info on our Casino Streaming page

Youtube Slotmad

Twitch Casino Stream

Check out some more of our News and Review of other slots:

Who wants to be a Millionaire MegaWays by Big Time Gaming

Blackbeard’s Compass

Fire Strike by Pragmatic Play

The post The Royals – Love them, Hate them, They are here to stay appeared first on SlotMad.

The UKGC are flexing their regulatory muscles again and this time they have bonus buy-in games in their sights.

• Is there any merit to what they are doing?
• Are bonus-buy in games so bad?
• Will it mean a blanket ban everywhere?

To answer the question as to whether this proposed ban has merit we need to look at what a bonus-buy is and how the UKGC may feel they are a problem.

What  is a Bonus Buy-in slot?

A bonus buy-in game is simply a slot which allows the player to bypass the base game and purchase an instant bonus round.

Not to be confused with Blitz mode in which the spins are so quick that only a graphical representation of the win is shown too the player. They are already blocked in the UK due to the 3-second spin rule (the 3—second rule states that a single spin from start to finish can not take less than 3 seconds).

There are simple bonus buy-in games like for example Sweet Bonanza.

You pay the ‘entry fee’ (in this case 100x your stake) and you go straight into the bonus round with a minimum of 10 spins (more if you trigger additional scatters).

These are potentially problematical in two ways.

1: They are more compelling than base games and are therefore deemed to be more likely to promote higher and more frequent betting.

2: It’s a lot easier to lose a loot more in a shorter space of time.

3: They don’t take into account the base wins a player may see on the way to the bonus so the cost of the bonus needs to properly reflect that.

I’m sure there”s a set formula for establishing the 3^rd point but the first two are certainly on the regulators mind.

The second type of Bonus-Buy game is more complicated.

On games like Vikings Unleashed, Extra Chilli etc where not only can you buy a bonus but in order to make much of that bonus you need to gamble the bonus multiple times – and at any point you can be left with nothing.

In the case of Vikings Unleashed the wheel below shows your position after two gambles. The top is 27 spins with a 10x multiplier.  That takes 24 gambles…. And if you lose you lose everything.

There are games in-between the two where you won’t be left with nothing but you’ll be given entry into a lesser bonus (or given fewer free spins).

We’ve written about this previously

Free Spin Gambles  –  Fair play or foul?

I’d guess that it’s the latter type of bonus buy-in that has really forced the issue.

Is this the end for Bonus Buy-in slots?

If you play at a UK casino you’ll have noticed that many Bonus-Buy games have gone already.

In some cases the providers were fortunate enough or farsighted enough to have built in a bonus-buy On/Off functionality within their games which means they don’t need to remove their slots or rebuild them.

In other cases this is going to hurt.

I can see the logic behind it, I’m sure everybody can. This is not just posturing from the regulator of the type we’ve seen too often in the past.

This is of genuine benefit to a particular group of players.

That’s not to say it isn’t a blow to those of us who love these games but in the scheme of things I can see the reasoning and it’s solid.

If you’d like to know more about Bonus Buy-In games we’ve got a collection of them along with an introduction to the genre over at:

Bonus Buy-in Games.

It’ll be interesting to see the response to this from the slot providers and from other jurisdictions.

There is a risk that in doing this the UKGC will drive more players to Curacao but I guess that’s a risk with each piece of new regulation.

Let us know what you think in the forum.

The post The death of Bonus Buy-in games? appeared first on SlotMad.

Slingo was first invented and introduced in New Jersey back in 1998. It did not start growing until 2015, when the Slingo trademark was sold to London based company Gaming Realms. Since then, it has been co-branded with many other larger British trademarks. It has also started appearing on more and more Online Casinos. We think it is time Slingo, being the bastard child of Slots and Bingo, deserved a mention here at Slotmad.

“Once you go Slingo, you don’t go Bingo”

No, unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, this isn’t the tagline of Slingo. (Should the owners of Slingo want to use this tagline, feel free to contact us!). For us, Slingo takes the boring part of Bingo and replace it with the exciting part of a slot machine.

How does it work?

The game is played with a 5×5 bingo card, with a one line slot below. There are 15 numbers on each reel, together with extra Wilds (Slingo’s), Super-Wilds (Super-Slingos), Free Spins and Blanks. Playing one round of Slingo consists of buying in for the set Card price. Depending on which Slingo game you are playing, you will start with either 10 or 11 spins. The name of the game is then to collect your numbers and getting five in a rows, just like in Bingo.

If you haven’t collected the full card at the end of your spins, you can choose to buy extra spins. You can also choose to collect and try again, but who can resist the urge to have one more go? The cost of one extra spin depends on how many Slingos you have collected and how many numbers are left. Therefore, if you buy one more spin and hit a number, the next spins will cost more.

In the end of the game, the number of Slingos and other things you have collected are added and paid out.

Different Slingo’s

There are quite a few different Slingo versions, each with a slightly different twist. In showdown saloon for example, each spin you receive five cards forming a poker hand. If you hit any of the winning hands, your win go up. As you collect Slingos, your multiplier increases. In the end after your 10 spins, your winnings are multiplied and paid out. Buying extra spins when you have collected a good pot can be very lucrative. It can also spell doom for your balance, so proceed with caution!

In Slingo Fortunes and Deal or No deal, you get to choose a Envelope or a Box. If you get four or more winning lines you will be offered a deal.  In the Extreme Version, it is all about the Slingo lines. If you hit the Full house, you win 500x your bet!

Co-branded Slingo’s

Outside of the above, there are many other versions made together with famous British and American trademarks. These Slingos are often slightly differentiated from each other, but built around the same basic idea. There is the 5×5 bingo card, the one line slot as well as 10-11 spins. Then comes the differences. For example in the Britain’s got Talent version, you start with 11 spins and you can collect up to four extra free spins.

In this game, you can win up to 200 times you bet! If you manage to collect several of the wild scatters on the same spin you win extra prices as well.

In X-Factor, there is an additional symbol on the reels where you can earn “X-Factor Auditions”. If you collect all nine, you are golden. Stake levels range from €1 to €100. Therefore, whether you are a small player or a big whale, there’s action for you.

Then there are even more TV-Shows from the UK which have their own Slingo versions. These include classics, such as The Chase and Deal or No Deal. They have even made a version of the everloved slot machine Rainbow Riches!

If you haven’t tried out Slingo before, we suggest you give it a shot at either Vera & John or InterCasino.

Check out their reviews here:

Vera&John Review or sign up right away here.

InterCasino Review or sign up right away here.

The post Slingo appeared first on SlotMad.

We’re stocking up on merchandise from our friends in the iGaming world.

Stock will change over time of course.

You’ll find gadgets, quirky items, hoodies, t-shirts and all sorts of weird and wonderful merchandise.

The store is part of our Twitch Casino Streaming. You can find out more about our casino streams on our Casino Stream page.

We’re live 3 days a week (usually Monday, Wednesday and Friday) from 1pm. You can find out the latest from the the casino stream page.

To qualify for the items in the store you’ll need to join us on Twitch.

You’ll earn points for

• Watching the stream.
• Winning quizzes.
• Prize giveaways.
• Gambling on the Stream slots and roulette.
• Dueling other viewers for points.

Join Slotmad Casino on Twitch

Visit the Slotmad Stream Store

The post SlotMad Twitch Casino Store appeared first on SlotMad.

What’s the highest number of free spins you’ve ever had?

In 15 years of playing slots every day my record was 135. It was offline and it was on Novomatic’s Chicago.

Other than that I can count on one had the times I’ve got close to 100.

Then…

I played railroad by Merkur.

It was the end of a long, fun but not particularly profitable stream and we were down  to our last 55 or so euros.

We hit the bonus round really early on (usually taken as a bad sing by superstitious slot players).

An hour later we were still going strong on railroad. On the same bonus game. It went nuts.

You can see the video of the epic bonus round below.

I doubt I’ll ever see anything quite as nuts as that again.

Can’t help thinking it should have been a bigger win but perhaps that’s just greedy.

Join us on stream!

If you fancy sitting in and chatting with our great group os the Slotmad Casino streams we’d love to have you along!

SlotMad Casino Stream page

SlotMad Twitch Channel

or
SlotMad Youtube Channel

Hopefully see you on stream!

The post Railroad from Merkur – bonus round madness. appeared first on SlotMad.

After a few months of structured giveaways we’ve decided to change things around a little.

With daily timed giveaways on certain providers we reached a point where we were:

• Seeing an influx of viewers for the giveaway slots (we don’t blame them, fair’s fair there’s money to be won).
• Suffering from multiple accounting to land prizes.
• Spending about 3 hours of the stream chasing the two giveaway triggers (100x win on the chosen provider’s games) leaving little time for other stuff like showcasino new games, playing a bit of Live Casino, quizzes, bonus hunts etc.

From  now onward, bar special events and occasions, we will be running random giveaways.

The random giveaways will be just that, given at random times and on random games.

There will still be lots of giveaways and prizes up for grabs but this will allow us to

• Reward our loyal viewers.
• Keep player winnings in line with our winnings.
• Go with the flow on stream and not be tied to a schedule.

Join us on stream via

Slotmad Twitch Casino Page

Youtube Casino Page

For more details pop over to our Casino Streaming Pages.

See you soon!

The post SlotMad Giveaways appeared first on SlotMad.