Hot 7’s Slot
If there is a number to help define luck, it seems seven is the most popular choice when it comes to online slot gambling. Fruit machines are as popular today as when the early one armed bandit was the ‘must play’ casino slot machine. Throwing in a dash of gloss and buckets of pizzazz is Hot 7’s, a joyful explosion of classic slot with software by Monarc Gaming Labs. 5 reels of conventional symbols bring some healthy medium variance play. Not surprising as fruit is supposed to be healthy isn’t it? Getting your hands on the control panel to set bets to play is easy.
Once setting the denomination of the coin value and deciding how many coins to play, you're basically good to go. A word of warning to any newbies, is beware of setting a high denomination as this will dry up your funds very quickly no matter how many coins you decide to play. The landing screen mentions high roller and this is a slot that will delight gamblers looking to play to the high limits of everything. However, bets can be set between a low 20 up to the maximum bet of 300 coins and there are still oodles of enjoyment to be had with playing at lower stakes for those who do not have a big payroll.
Slick Looks
Hot 7’s has a look that is so hot, it’s cool! Stunning 3D graphics are used and the design makes everything that appears on the screen more tangible. In fact it is tangible if playing on mobile devices with a touch screen such as tablets, iPhones and Android. For the computer user, the space key can be used to activate the spins. If players fancy sitting back and watching play, there is an auto play button that can give a number of spins in increments between 10 and 200. The background is in red which is given a horizontal striped effect that resembles a venetian blind.
The reel grid is set against dark shadow which focuses all attention to the reels. If players like cherries, they are in for a spot of luck as they are some, but these are the only fruit to be found on this slot. But there are bells, single, double and triple BARS, money symbols and of course, it goes without saying that they are 7s; two of them to be exact. One is in plain red and one is in red and yellow with flames burning on it. The 7s also play as stacked symbols which can throw up some really nice payouts.
A Reel Within a Reel
Free spins can be triggered by the slots scatter symbol of ‘Free Games’. When 3 or more of these appear, bells ring that sound like the NY stock exchange bell as spins plus a multiplier of x2 is awarded. As is customary in free spins rounds, these will play automatically and is accompanied by lively music. This one has some quite funky music, and the potential wins may have some players busting moves in celebration! The wild symbol is a ‘triple wild 7’ and this has a special tile animation of 3 reels matching their own wild symbols for a 3x multiplier. This is activated when wilds step up to help produce a win.
Disappearing Fruit
Fruit Slider by Merkur Gaming is a fruit themed slot with a bit if a difference. It uses spinning reels that have cascading reel qualities to lend a more modern slant onto an old classic. Once a win is made, the matched symbols disappear to allow the tiles to cascade down from above to fill in the gaps. If another win forms, this repeats until no more wins are possible. This is great for securing multiple wins from a single bet. The game has 5 reels with 3 rows and only has 7 win lines. Betting is a matter of selecting an amount and that’s it, the bet is placed. This can be between 0.10 and 20 coins.
It doesn’t have wild symbols, free spins or bonus games, just simple spin and win to bring home the money. Spins can be activated by clicking the spin button or by using the space bar. Using the spacebar is a safer way to play as the max bet button is a little too close and looks very similar and it's easy to click on it accidentally. The pay table is good one that is full of fruit, stars and sevens. It also has a gamble feature for the brave players out there, but if playing auto play it won’t play the feature.
New Meets Old
Slot machine style, online, mobile or land based has changed over the years. Some players prefer the old and reliable, others prefer dazzling new. Developers seem busy trying to come up with the next best thing since sliced bread with unique themes. It’s nice when a slot brings a mix of both old and new to meet in the middle. Hot 7’s hits the spot very well and looks sleek and shiny with a lot of thought put into it by the designer that shows.
Although it lacks the amount of fruit many other online slots have, it actually remains faithful to the early slots that had belles and BARS and lucky 7s. Another rather gentle nod is respectfully paid with the reproduction of a clattering reel sound similar to the old one armed bandits. Hot 7’s by Monarc Gaming Labs is special with old style refinement that makes for the next generation spectacular.