Aquarium Slot Machine
Aquarium is a 5-reel, marine-themed video slot from WorldMatch. Developers of casino games often draw from a well-worn bag of tricks, and they are especially fond of certain themes – marine life being one of them. On the whole, though, Aquarium is a welcome addition to the canon.
The HD slot has 25 paylines and features two separate bonus games. There’s also an attractive 2,000 credit jackpot to take into consideration. Got your snorkel at the ready? Then let’s dive into the ocean, exploring the open shells and colourful fish that populate the reels of this attractive instant-play video slot.
Lines and Coins
In Aquarium, you can choose to play on 1, 5, 10, 15 or 25 paylines, and using coins from 0.01 to 1 credit. As such, the maximum bet-per-line is 25 credits. As usual, you’ll find all the controls at the bottom of the screen. There’s also an autoplay function you can activate, and you can click into the pay-table if you wish to view a summary of the pay-outs associated with each winning combination. While you’re checking out the pay-table, the effect is of staring into a fish tank: small, multicoloured photorealistic fish swim left and right, their fins wimpling in the water.
The aim, as ever, is to find three, four or five identical symbols. All wins are formed from left to right, starting from the leftmost reel, and only the highest win is paid per line. The game’s theoretical payback percentage is a respectable 97.84%.
A Watery World
The Aquarium slot is rather pleasant to look at – providing you find the idea of gazing at a virtual-reality underwater landscape pleasant. The 5x3 reel grid appears against a backdrop of rocks, grass and shimmering water. The presentation, on the whole, is strong, though there are certainly better-looking slots out there.
The icons on the reels are all associated with the marine theme; they include a shell, inside which is a pearl, a sea horse, a starfish, a yellow flower which looks like a red poke of French fries, a pink shell, a wide-finned blue fish, a turtle, a green and black fish, a red plant, two separate treasure chests and a fish tank.
Most of the icons simply grant pay-outs, with the best coming when you’re playing at max bet. If you are, you can look forward to 200 credits for three starfish, 1,000 for four or 2,000 for five. Elsewhere, you’ll win 20, 50 and 150 for the sea horses, 50, 300 and 1,000 for the turtles and 30, 150 and 250 for the blue fish.
Wilds and Scatters
Like almost all WorldMatch slots, Aquarium features both wild and scatter symbols. The wild, represented by the fish tank, substitutes for all icons excluding the treasure chests and can be used to help you make wins. The wild doesn’t grant pay-outs in its own right though, nor does it give you a multiplier when utilised in a win.
As for the scatter, it’s represented by one of the treasure chests and a Free Spins logo. Three or more activates a dozen free spins during which all pay-outs are doubled. Free spins are played on the same number of lines and with the same bet-per-line as the triggering game. To get started, just click on the Free Spins button located on the toolbar.
Aquarium Bonus Game
The bonus game is triggered when you land three or more of the treasure chest icons which have the words Bonus Games stamped on top of them. The treasure chests, like the scatters, can appear anywhere. To commence your game, just hit Start Bonus Game on the toolbar.
Once you get through to the next screen, you’ll be tasked with guessing which fish conceal the highest sums. You’ll select six of 12 fish. After each selection, the win amount of the chosen fish will be displayed. The total amount won will then be recorded, and the bonus game ends when all six fish have been selected.
Fishy Fun
Aquarium is a thoroughly enjoyable slot, one that’ll be best appreciated by lovers of the ocean. Although it doesn’t boast a progressive jackpot, the slot features a couple of bonus games in the form of a free spins round and another guessing game. The chances of hitting solid wins are born out by what is a very respectable RTP figure, so by all means give this one a go and see how you get on.
