Illusionist Slot Machine
Illusionist is a classic arcade style slot which aims to wow and amaze its players with its 5 reels and 9 paylines. It may look at bit dated at first glance, but that does not mean that this Novomatic software game has lost its magic and sparkle. In fact, this game offers a very adequate gambling product which is easy to use and exciting to behold.
The Illusionist slot machine also has the potential to be very exciting considering that its highest jackpot will multiply the bets per line by 5,000x. Of course, you will have to pull off quite a lucky spin to land that jackpot amount, but there is a free spins round with stacked wilds which could give your betting balance a nudge in the right direction.
A Video Slot Disguised As An Arcade Classic
Illusionist differs from most 5-reel video slots in the way that it demonstrates the qualities of a classic arcade style game. The aesthetic is unmistakably vintage in appearance and sound; the 5 reels include typical card symbols such as 10, J, Q, K, and the game makes arcade noises that you might normally expect to hear when playing a good old fruit machine. What's more, the slot machine uses a control interface which emulates a real life gambling machine, presenting the player with buttons which light up when they are active.
Despite these traditional qualities, the slot machine still endeavours to amaze its players with a series of animated game symbols. For example, one symbol is depicted by a rabbit poking its head out of a magician's top hat. Line up a winning combination of these icons and the rabbit will duck into the hat and a shower of coins will erupt from the image. That probably also has something to do with the fact that this symbol will multiply the bets on the winning line by up to 250x, as will the symbol which shows a hand holding playing cards. Next up in value is the magician's dove, worth 500x the line bet if 5 appear on a payline. But the star of the show is, of course, the magician himself who will multiply the bets on a line by 5,000x.
There is also a wild symbol which is represented by a pair of sparkling gloves. These are very magical hands indeed, because they will fill in winning combinations by substituting for every other symbol in the game. Unfortunately there is no scatter symbol in this game.
Spin The Magic Reels
To get a winning combination, players simply have to find a matching sequence of symbols along any of the active pay lines going from left to right. The amount of coins that are bet on that pay line will then be multiplied by the values and a win will be rewarded. Simple.
Players can bet a maximum amount of 100 coins on all 9 paylines, which will make the total bet worth a fairly sizeable 900 coins. Admittedly, this bet size won't appeal to every punter out there. Which is why the game allows players to tinker with the betting values. So, if you really wanted to play it safe and simple, then you could place 1 coin on a solitary pay line for the ultimate low stakes play.
Some Magical Freebies
No matter how many pay lines you decide to play with, you will still be able to take advantage of the free spins that are offered by Illusionist. This special feature will be triggered whenever stacked wild symbols appear on both the first and fifth reels of the slot machine.
When this happens, 15 free spins will be initiated. Which is all good and well but this slot machine will hold the stacked wilds on reels 1 and 5 in place for the duration of the free game. That means that only the middle 3 reels will spin while the wild symbols continue to substitute for all game symbols. So, there is an improved chance that you might line up 5 in a row with this feature.
The Magician's Gamble
Spinners can also take a chance with the double-or-nothing gamble game, which is available to activate after every winning spin. There is a face down card and you are presented with a 50/50 choice: is the card red or black? If you guess the right colour then you will double your money but if you guess wrong then you will lose it all.
It Still Has A Touch Of Magic About It
Illusionist may not be the most magical of slot machines out there, even in spite of its magicians theme. The truth is that the game just doesn't deliver when it comes to extra bonus features, like many of its competitors do. Nonetheless, the game does have a certain charm about it thanks to its classic sensibilities, not to mention the constant possibility that you might land that 5,000x jackpot. For that reason it becomes a game that is likely to be more popular as a real money slot given the lacklustre gameplay on offer to fun players in freeplay mode.