Eight Best Slots That You Can Play in a Casino
Of all the casino games available, slot machines are perhaps the most prevalent type and the one most commonly played. At first, in the finishing stages of the 19th century, when the first ever slot machine came to be (it was invented in 1891 as a successor of the automated poker machine), it was not a casino staple. It found its way to pubs and bars across the Land of Opportunity, and at the time there were no monetary prizes. Instead, pub visitors would spin the three-wheel thingy (surely someone made a snide ‘oh there’s nothing they won’t come up with these days’ comment) in hopes of getting a drink or a cigar. You know, as opposed to just buying that beer which would probably cost less in the long run.
Soon enough, it found its way to the gaming floors across the globe. Today, slots take up around 70% of the casino’s surface. There was a (probably false) story which says that casino slots were introduced so that women would have something to do while the boys were off playing table games. How very 1960s. In any case, slot machine games represent the best casino asset as it rakes in the most money.
Going Online
Online slot games had the same destiny. In the 1990s, when the Internet rudely changed our lives without even asking us if we were up for it, online casinos came to the scene. Just like land-based elders, online websites ran with only classic table games like blackjack, roulette, and poker. But they soon realized they needed to add money slots to their library. At first, they were mere copies of classic slot machines, but soon, the software developed, and we can now enjoy more complex games.
Now, we’re nearing the 2020s, and the choices are endless. To help you out, we’ve come up with a list of eight best slot games to play at casino. Before we go there, let’s briefly discuss slots themselves.
How They Work
Both physical slot machines and online video slots now share the same mechanism as they’ve moved on to using computer software. They utilize what’s called a Random Number Generator or RNG for short. The RNG is a system which makes sure that every outcome of the game is truly random. It works independently of any outside factors as it doesn’t take into consideration whether you’ve made a maximum bet or not. It also doesn’t care if you’ve been winning or losing so far.
To work out the odds of winning a particular machine has, we use a metric called Return to Player (RTP). The RTP shows us how much money will go to the slot player in the long run. As such, it’s the opposite of the house edge. However, you should have in mind that RTP is not a guarantee of a win. An RTP of 90% doesn’t mean you’ll win nine out of 10 times. RTPs are measured over the machine’s lifetime, making them irrelevant in a single session. Still, picking a game with a high RTP increases your chances of winning.
Moreover, there’s also slot volatility. This represents how often and how much a machine pays out. A highly volatile slot doesn’t land on a winning spin as regularly, but when it does, you can win big. On the other hand, playing slots with low volatility gives you a chance to win at slots more frequently, but don’t hope for huge jackpots.
Slot Strategies
As long as there are people playing slots, there will be people claiming they’ve stumbled upon a winning strategy which guarantees you’ll win every time you press a spin button. However, due to the nature of the RNG, it’s not really a good idea to follow these strategies. The RNG makes every outcome genuinely random, and the RTP is true after millions and billions of rounds. As a result of the combination of these two, there’s no proper way to predict or influence the outcome in any way. Your best option is to just play and hope for the best. After all, we’re playing slots for the amusement they bring; they’re not really a viable source of income.
Now let’s check out which slot machines are the best to play, both land-based and online ones.
Land-based Slots
Usually, when you enter a casino that’s larger in size, you’ll find slots in thousands. There are rows upon rows of machines and people attached to each other. Most land-based slot machines’ RTP falls in the range from 85–90 percent. Here’s our selection of the top four.
Freya’s Magic
Released in 2016 by Konami, Freya’s Magic tackles a popular slot theme — Norse mythology. Besides Freya, the goddess of gold and beauty, you’ll find other topical symbols, including unicorns, chariots, potions, etc. You can choose between 20 and 40 paylines.
The Wild Freya takes up the usual wild role of substituting symbols to complete a payline. If you get a whole reel filled with wilds, you can get a x2 or x3 multiplier. When three scatters show up, you get free spins during which wilds expand across the whole reel.
Game of Thrones
Game of Thrones slot game came out in 2015 as part of the Aristocrat’s series of branded games, which also included Britney, Sons of Anarchy, and The Big Bang Theory. The game comes with top-notch 4K graphics, five reels, and a progressive jackpot.
When three scatters show up, the player activates a wheel feature which can, in turn, activate one of four bonuses. The first one, Wall Bonus, gives you eight free spins. Similarly, The Battle of Blackwater Bay bonus gives you six free spins, but they have sticky wilds, meaning that they stay in place throughout the bonus round. Finally, the Mother of Dragons bonus triggers a dragon, and the player gets to pick a dragon egg, revealing a multiplier of wins.
Kronos
This WMS slot takes you to Ancient Greece, where Zeus ruled from Olympus. Kronos has 20 paylines across five wheels. Three or more scatters (golden medallions) trigger free spins. Depending on whether you get three, four, or five symbols, you can get 10, 25, or 100 free spins. So, if you hit five scatters, you get a great chance to earn some serious dough. During free spins, there are more wilds in the game, which replace other symbols to form a payline.
Sphinx 3D
When IGT released Sphinx 3D in 2013, it was the first video slot with True3D technology. This slot offers quite a unique experience thanks to its eye tracking feature. This way, game images adjust themselves based on the way you’re seated. The game has five reels and 30 paylines.
During the base game, you can trigger two bonus features. One of them is the Ramosis Wild feature, which is triggered by three coin symbols. During this feature, you select coins which award wilds in the next spin. When three Box symbols show up, you can win additional coins.
Furthermore, three Sphinx symbols lead you to Sphinx, which lets you pick one of the five bonuses. Diamond Chamber bonus makes you choose from a set of diamonds to reveal multipliers or additional rounds. Ramosis Free Games give you 20 free spins and a x2 multiplier. Next, Stars Progressive lets you pick stars which fill out a meter that determines the size of your reward.
Ancient Wheel Bonus feature presents you with three wheels with different volatility. You can make up to three spins on wheels of your choosing. Finally, Wild Scarab bonus gives you 10 free spins on special reels.
Online Gaming
When you play online, you have more chances of winning real money. The thing is, online slots come with better RTPs of 92–97%. On top of that, some popular games have progressive jackpots, and there are several providers who offer a networked system of progressive jackpots. This means that players from different casinos all contribute to the same pot, making the jackpot prize often rise above $1 million.
When playing online, you can also profit from casino bonuses. As there are plenty of online casinos around, and they are all accessible (when in Las Vegas, you can only play in a Las Vegas casino), they needed to find a way to stand out from the competition. As a result, you can find many bonus codes online which grant you free spin bonuses so you can earn money without spending a dime.
Here are four of the best online slot games.
Aztec’s Millions
A progressive slot from RealTime Gaming, this game allows you to go searching for hidden treasures of the ancient Aztec civilization. You can play with up to 25 paylines which spread across five reels. With different symbols paying up different amounts of money, you can win anything from 5x to 200x the initial bet by aligning basic symbols. The game’s RTP stands at 95%.
That’s not all there is to it. Special symbols (including jewelry and the Aztecan Princess) pay in the range of 500x to 5,000x your bet, if you strike lucky. The wild comes in the shape of the Aztec King, and it substitutes any other symbol to form an active payline. The wild shows up only on the three inside reels. A Golden Idol is a scatter symbol which, depending on the number it shows up in (it can be three, four, or five) pays out 3x, 15x, or 100x. What’s more, they also activate the free spins feature, and you can get up to 25 free spins.
Lastly, there is also a jackpot symbol which is the game’s logo. To win the progressive jackpot, you need five of these symbols, one in each reel. If you get less than five, the payouts are 5x, 25x, 250x, and 2500x the initial bet.
Arabian Nights
Another progressive slot machine. This one is a product of NetEnt, and the theme of the game, as the name suggests, is medieval Arabia. Everything about this game is oriental — from symbols (such as a fez, a camel, and a scimitar) to sound effects and the general design of the game. It’s not an overly complicated game, which is one of the reasons for its popularity. It’s a five-wheeler with 10 locked-in paylines and an RTP of 95.6%.
When three scatter symbols show up, you get to play a bonus round. During this round, you receive 15 free spins which come with a x3 multiplier. The progressive jackpot feature is available only to players who play with real money and a maximum bet. To land the jackpot, you need five jackpot symbols to pop up at the same time.
Thunderstruck II
Thunderstruck II comes from the Microgaming game factory. As you can see from the title, it’s a sequel to a popular game that came out in 2004. There are five reels in this machine and 243 paylines. RTP is 96.65%.
The theme of the game is Norse mythology, as you’ll face Norse gods and other mythological beings throughout the gameplay. Loki, Thor, Valkyrie, and Odin are all special symbols in this game. The wild replaces any symbol except for the scatter and doubles your winnings.
The scatter, Thor’s Hammer, activates bonus rounds. There are four of them (Valkyrie, Loki, Odin, and Thor round), and they all give out different prizes. Starting with 10 free spins and a x5 multiplier, with all four bonus rounds played through, you can get up to $2.4 million coins.
Jumanji
Another NetEnt game, Jumanji has five reels, an RTP of 96.33%, and 36 paylines. It focuses on the famous movie of the same name. There are ten different bonus features you can activate in this game. The Sticky Vines make all symbols from a winning combination locked in place for the next spin. Monsoon Wilds cover one or two reels in wilds while the others keep spinning.
Moving on, The Monkey Mayhem feature randomly reshuffles the order of symbols, so you get a guaranteed win. There’s also a bonus game, where you get to play a board game in which you roll dice for free spins and payout multipliers.
Make Your Choice
The thing you should use as a determining factor when selecting a slot game is its Return to Player statistic. The higher the RTP, the better the chances of winning you have. When you find two machines with the same RTP, bonus features and your personal preferences are two other elements that should influence your choice.
Just don’t forget that, in the long run, no matter what choice you make, the house always wins. Were it not so, RTPs would be 100% and casinos wouldn’t be profitable. Instead of stressing about losing, just relax and enjoy the game.