The online casino business is highly competitive, but that hasn’t stopped slots developer Plank Gaming from entering the market. Officially launched in 2018, the company is based in Malta, which is a major hub of the iGaming industry. So what makes Plank Gaming confident that it can succeed in such a tough environment?
A company is only as good as the people who work in it, and someone with years of experience is behind this business. Plank Gaming founder Liam Mulvaney is well-known within the industry, having risen through NetEnt's ranks from account manager to solutions specialist, and later to senior account manager. After a spell at Quickspin, where he was also a senior account manager, Liam took his own path and founded Plank Gaming.
While some new games developers seem to wait around for ages before launching any content, this one already has a small but growing range of games on the market. So, is the team destined for great things? Read our Plank Gaming review to find out.
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From the looks of their first few games, it’s clear that Plank Gaming has recruited some talented individuals. The first slot from the company, Puffer Goes Wild, is a cartoon-style game filled with beautifully designed sea creatures that could have come straight out of a Pixar movie. 3D graphics help the images to pop out from the screens of desktop PCs and mobile devices.
Puffer Goes Wild has been followed up with another underwater themed slot machine in the shape of Neptune’s Rising, while Fortunes of Fu Lu Shou is a Chinese-themed slots game. Both of these titles feature similar pin-sharp graphics, although they replace the 3D effects with a more conventional style.
Of course, good looks are not the only important aspects of an online slot machine. The gameplay and features need to attract players from the vast choice of games out there. In an effort to do so, Plank Gaming slot machines mix popular elements such as wild symbols and free spins, with their own unique twists that are proving popular among gamers to date.
It’s also important to consider the potential paybacks and the overall fairness of any slot machine. Unlike some games developers, who can be reluctant to reveal the return-to-player percentages of their slots, Plank Gaming is very open and honest. The average return on stakes placed on Plank Gaming slots is 95-96%.
Plank Gaming is fully licensed in Malta. The Malta Gaming Authority ensures that all developers under its jurisdiction deliver fair, reliable games. When you play a Plank Gaming slot machine, you can relax in the knowledge that results are randomly determined and will, over the course of many games, deliver the declared returns. Their games are found at safe, reliable sites, and at online casinos that pay out the fastest.
At the time of writing this Plank Gaming review, the developer’s range consisted of three titles. That said, the company is still young, and we would prefer for it to keep launching quality games at a slower rate than churn out content just for the sake of it.
We will start with a look at the Puffer Goes Wild online slot, the first game to be launched by Plank Gaming in December 2018. This is a five-reel slot where you will find 178 ways to win as matching symbols land across the game. Alongside the colorful fish symbols, you will see seaweed-covered shields against the bright blue waters of a tropical ocean.
Look out for a Pufferfish on reel one and a Shark that can land on reel five. These are both wild symbols, acting as others to complete combinations. A bubble is yet another wild symbol which can land in any place.
When you see the Pufferfish and Shark at the same time, you trigger the game’s respins mode. During the respins, the Puffer moves around the reels, growing in size to make it easier to collect winnings.
Slots with an Asian theme are some of the most popular in the world. Plank Gaming has tapped into this vast market with Fortunes of Fu Lu Shou. A conventional five-reel, 20-payline format is used, and classic symbols of gold coins, koi fish, and dragons decorate the game.
Fu, Lu, and Shou are Chinese gods with special powers to act as other symbols if needed, expanding across reels to complete combinations. Fortunes of Fu Lu Chou also has a free spins bonus round.
Neptune Rising takes you back underwater to a realm filled with mermaids, dolphins, and magic. Just ten paylines cross the five reels of this online and mobile-optimized slots game. King Neptune’s trident is a wild symbol, and there is a nicely animated random feature where the trident is placed on the reels if it can then complete a line.
The main bonus feature of Neptune Rising is a free spins game, which is triggered by any three or more coin scatter symbols appearing at once.
Thanks to the experience of the founder and the team at Plank Gaming, the first slots in the range are all high-quality games. Popular themes and eye-catching imagery should attract a wide range of players.
Although some features such as wild symbols and free games are very common, the team at Plank Gaming know how to add unique twists to their slots creations. Expanding symbols and randomly added wilds help to make each game stand out.
The games have been designed for fast loading onto any device, plus easy integration into online and mobile casino platforms. The fact that these titles are compatible with desktop computers, iPhones, iPads, and Android mobile devices will undoubtedly increase their appeal even further.
Plank Gaming is a relatively new operation, and it will take time for players to be able to find the range across the online casino world. To date, only a handful of sites have adopted these slot games into their offering, but you can try their expanding range for free here at VegasSlotsOnline. Be sure to test other top-quality games, such as AGS slots, or Egaming slots across these pages.
Games developers licensed in Malta can accept players from a wide range of countries, mostly in Europe, but also further afield and even on cruise ships. Whether Plank Gaming gains further licenses around the world remains to be seen.
Time will tell if Plank Gaming keeps up the high quality and fun gameplay of the first slots. By theming these games around such popular topics, Plank Gaming has given each of its creations the best chance of finding an audience.
We look forward to seeing more slots releases from this creative company being featured at more online casino sites in the near future.