Well time change I guess and in the past couple of years playing I’ve seen a load more choice in the slots I get to lose my money on online…so I thought it was time I updated my “favourite slots” list! All things are obviously different to everyone so I’ll stop short of saying these are the best online slots - you may disagree. Although I am always right so there ;)
For background purposes, I live in the UK and grew up with pub fruities - this is way before the smoking ban came in but I can’t blame that on switching to online…I put that down to the fact that online you get circa 95% payback! When I went online I was unfamiliar with the Vegas style slots, but it didn’t take long to realise these are so much more fun…and here I am, a convert! That said, there are some online fruit machines available now if that’s your thing - and they play true to form…streaky!
In this article, the links take you largely to reviews of the slots I talk about and in some instances to my online slots database at Slotjunkies, where you can find info on some 200+ of the best online slots I have come across.
So anyway, back in 2004 I first discovered the grandfather of 5-reel online bonus slots, ”Thunderstruck” (a slot from Microgaming which is available at loads of online casinos that use Microgaming software - see panel right) which quickly became my favourite slot. You’d think that sitting here in 2008 I would have moved on, but quite simply even today it is the first slot I go to play when I play online. Can’t really explain why this slot is sooo good to be honest. It gives you 15 free spins as a bonus and can give some hefty payouts, although it can suck money faster than a Dyson at times, but maybe it’s because I come from the FPS background playing PC games like Quake and Unreal Tournament…the graphics and sounds of the Thunderstruck monster are somewhat reminiscent of those games. I still love it - it’s still (in my opinion!) the best online slot and will probably be so for some time.
There are contenders of course. The new “Hitman” slot from Microgaming - hell let’s shorten that to “MG” - is awesome in terms of graphics and sounds and has 3 bonus rounds no less, and that became a fave when it launched in mid 2007, although the larger payouts are fewer and further between. Perhaps until then, the excellent Tombraider slot was the only slot that really shifted boundaries on MG software and while I tend only to play this in the online slot tournaments myself, it is hugely popular. You can even play it on your mobile phone now!
Gotta say that Wagerworks software (which is Flash based and powers casinos like Virgin and Blue Square) has also come on leaps and bounds since IGT - the big US land-based slots manufacturer - took them over. Worth mentioning that the irony is, while they present a number of Las Vegas faves in an online environment, US players are not allowed to play at Wagerworks casinos thanks to their rather staid political bigwigs. But there you go - doesn’t stop the rest of us having fun ;) The Cleopatra slot is probably their flagship…it follows the Thunderstruck format but with 20 paylines instead of 9 and it’s another slot I play regularly. That said, Wagerworks have just released “Elvis Multistrike” - you really have to see this one, trust me! I have just been playing it at Virgin and it’s very different. Best you read my Elvis slot review for more because I just don’t have the time or space here to give it justice.
Nipping back to MG software for a moment, other slots I visit on a regular basis there are “Avalon” (yup - another free spins slot!) and the newer “Dragons Loot”. I like thse principally because the free spins bonuses can give out some big pays - Dragon’s Loot in particular gives up to 75 free spins at 2x which has done me nicely just recently. Again though, it is a money-sucker at times - far more so that Avalon which is lower risk.
Talking of risk, as a slots player you really need to understand the concept of slots variance. Click those words to read my explanation in detail, but variance = risk and you need to be careful how you bet on high variance slots in particular.
There are some good online slots on other software….”Desert Treasure” is a low variance slot with free spins bonus (again!) on Playtech software, but again this isn’t available to US players. Realtime Gaming software (which powers Club USA casino and iNetBet - warning: these two are about the only RTG casinos I would trust, Bodog aside) have a series of slots called “Real Series” slots. These are very diverse, pretty much all are medium/high variance and offer free spins, but if I started explaining the differences and my faves here you’d be here forevere….so check out my Real Series Slots article for the full rundown.
And there you go - for now at least - that’s a quick guide to what I consider the best online slots. There is plenty of choice besides these of course and many are very entertaining. I’d suggest for newbies you start by downloading a Microgaming casino (see list, right) and checking out the online slots there as there are now over 150 to pick and choose from. But trust me - start with Thunderstruck and you’ll get a good flavour for what you are in for.