Top Spot Slot
Barcrest have a number of noughts and crosses or XOX titles in their range, all with slightly different themes and unique features. Top Spot may not be the newest of these choices or even a new idea, but it has been very popular for many years on the land based casino floor and it is now due to be released as both a desktop compatible option and mobile online slot.
Regular readers will know I recently reviewed Wild Knights Kings Ransom which features a staggered RTP bet structure – you will get that in this game also though the bet values haven’t been confirmed yet. If it runs like the other games in the series expect bets to vary from 0.10 Credits to ‘big bets’ of 10 credits and ‘super big bets’ of 20 credits, the larger wagers increase the games RTP the higher you bet – if you play for long periods of time it could be crucial to your strategy!.
This game changes the structure slightly from other titles in the XOX series by offering a limited choice of up to 10x active pay-lines however it does add in a gamble feature and the all-important Top Slot symbol which gives the game its name and is the key to big wins on this classic style casino slot.
Theme & Gameplay
The 5x3 reel layout may not be spectacular to look at like some of the more modern animated 3D video slots however, the upside is that it is very clear to read and very easy to play without constantly having to be pushing on a pay-table button every few minutes.
You won’t find any special surprises with the reel icons – noughts, crosses, bars, sevens, and a Wild Seven being the limited choice on offer. It is also worth noting that the Wild Seven is only available to you in ‘big bet’ or ‘super big bet’ wagering modes where you play 5 spins in a row at a fixed higher value.
Top slot does away with the multiplier option and scatters of its sister games for a unique extra win bonus feature. Every single win which lands activates a theatrical spinning horizontal reel at the top of the game – if the symbol which spins in matches your existing win combination all other symbols on the winning reels will change to the same icon and grant you a massively increased win by filling all the other paylines on those reels with the same win combination.
Last to mention is the traditional playing card gamble game, pick black/red or higher/lower to double up your wins – get it wrong and lose all winnings gained up to that point in time. A novelty here is that the gamble can be disabled in advance, so it does not auto appear every time a win is landed.
Summary
Barcrest now have upwards of 5 XOX games, all with a different combination of bet lines and features. With this in place it seems likely that you should find a combination to suit amongst them somewhere if this pub style slot play is your thing. Given the high popularity of these type of slots in the UK we do expect this game to be particularly popular in UK online sites when released.
