Big Joker Slots
Players who like to spin the reels of classic fruit machine style video slots should take a look at Big Joker from Casino Technology, as it has all the familiar symbols of grapes, cherries and oranges, and the simple gameplay that these are known for. Accompanying the images of fruit, there’s a special star symbol and a slightly creepy Joker who grins out of the reels and scares up some extra winlines when he’s in the right places.
To go with the traditional style, there’s an equally traditional layout, with 5 reels, symbols in 3 rows and just 5 paylines running across, and as usual with games of this type, gamblers will need 3, 4 or 5 of a symbol type across any of these lines, on adjacent reels from the left to claim a win in the normal run of play.
A low limit of just 0.50 is needed for real cash spins of the reels and the stakes can be raised to a maximum of 50.00, which isn’t particularly high, but should be more than adequate for all but the high roller gamblers. Russian-based Casino Technology also provide free Big Joker video slot games to practice on.
Fruit Filled Fun
A simple starry background sits behind the reels and a thin golden frame surrounds each one, while a subtle harlequin pattern sets off the colourful symbols, giving the whole game a nice, but not too fussy appearance. Once the bet size has been set using the simple control buttons below the game, a click gets the reels spinning and like all games from this online casino developer, the Big Joker slot comes with smooth animations along with realistic sound effects.
Sticking firmly with convention, the cherries, grapes, oranges and lemons are the lowest value symbols, each of them bringing in wins of 10x the line stake when landing on 3 connected reels, with 4 of them worth 20x and a full payline sees 100x paid out.
Apples, watermelons and grapes should fill up bankrolls a little more, with each paying 10x, 30x or 200x the coin values when stopping across a payline on 3, 4 or 5 reels. Red 7’s are yet another classic fruit machine symbol that’s featured here and when this icon lands on a line, the returns are equal to 30x, 100x and 750x. The best wins are claimed when the golden star appears in any 3 or more places at once, as this is a scatter symbol which is valued at 100x, 250x or a massive 2500x the line stake and won’t need to be across a payline to pay these generous awards out.
Wild Joker Joy
Anyone with a clown phobia should stop reading now, as the grinning Joker symbol makes an appearance quite frequently. He’s not actually worth anything on his own, but this is the wild symbol which is able to act as all except the scatter and complete winning lines.
If players have matching symbols across a payline but a break in the sequence, and the wild symbol is anywhere on the right reel it will expand and will then complete the line. Alternatively, if there’s a winning line running from the left and the Joker is on reels 4 and/or 5, it expands again and the higher wins for longer runs of matching symbols will be awarded.
He will only become an expanding wild if it’s possible to complete a line, so if it isn’t, the Joker just appears as a regular sized symbol. This is the only real bonus feature here, as there’s no free spins or mini game, but players wouldn’t expect them from this type of game.
Big Fun, or is the Joke on us?
This medium-volatility slot machine isn’t mobile-optimised, and the style may put some people off, but if these are not important issues, it’s got a lot going in its favour. While some gamblers steer clear of fruit machines, this is just the sort of game that others can’t get enough of, where nothing more unconventional than fruit, 7’s and star symbols are going to fill the reels.
Steady, reliable winning combinations are formed across the 5 lines and the Joker symbol may look a little menacing, but he’s the punters friend, turning losing spins into winners when he expands across the reels.
Despite the simple theme, the graphics are actually quite realistic, and each fruit symbol is well designed, even having little drops of water on them to add to the authenticity, so the Big Joker video slot machine is a pleasing blend of classic style, straightforward gameplay and sharp images that should attract a wider audience.
