Simpsons Slot Machine: Double seater (already a plus), three screen slot machine with a variety of bonuses. There's a random monorail bonus, donut bonus, and bonus based on your favorite character appearing in all four corners of the game. This is a colorful and noisy machine.
Slot machines are the syrup that sweeten the pancake experience of an average casino. A Las Vegas gaming venue offers shows, restaurants, exhibits, a resort experience, and more. Guests have more things to do than just gamble.
But then there’s the small roadside casino. The smokey atmosphere makes it hard to breathe, there are a few dozen slot machines, and if you’re lucky, there might even be a cheap sandwich bar.
Unless you’re a local who can’t get out of town, there isn’t much reason to visit the smaller casinos. But if they have any good slot games, especially older ones, they might be worth a visit.
Two things make playing a slot game somewhat more entertaining—the chance of winning a nice jackpot and the bonus game feature.
1 – Simple Bonus Games Can Be a Lot of Fun
There were nights I’d walk into a casino and see a large bank of machines light up and start spinning their wheels. They blared loudly, with stimulating sounds, hoping to attract passersby. I didn’t see the point of the game.
And yet, people would sit down and play. The bonus feature sends the wheels spinning like crazy and they land on win after win. I saw one player watch in excitement as her bonus ran to over $200.
Best Bonus Slot Machines
A simple bonus game can make it all worthwhile if it pays a nice prize. VGT slots are famous for their “Red Screen” bonus, where players watch win after win roll up on the machine.
If the bonus rounds come often and pay something extra, they make an otherwise dull game worth playing. My wife and I never spent much time on these games, but it’s obvious why you still find them. People like to see wheels spin as their credits explode.
2 – The Self-Playing Spin Bonus Feature
This one’s not so bad. The player doesn’t do anything but watch as the game spins the reels and pays prize after prize.
That’s the theory anyway. I’ve hit two different kinds of autoplaying bonus games. The best ones do exactly what you think. They spin the reels and pay a prize every time.
The worse autoplaying bonus games just throw in some extra random spins. There may be a prize or not. When you win $5 on the combination that triggered the bonus, you expect a little more.
It’s fun to watch your credits roll up as the game spins and spins and spins. It’s no fun at all to watch the game spin and spin and spin without paying anything. Game designers, take note!
3 – Pick Game Bonus Features Make Life More Interesting
I’ve played more pick bonus games than I can remember. I’ve dug for treasure, rubbed genie lamps, chased groundhogs, thrown lemmings off of cliffs, and fished for prizes. I’ve also picked random boxes and balls.
The appeal of the pick game bonus lies in the mystery. You know you’ll get something special, but you don’t know what.
I like guaranteed picks over “pick until you lose” games. A guaranteed pick game prize is much more satisfying even if it’s a small prize. I’ve picked the “game over” option too soon on some games.
Some adventure-based games have pick features where the player chooses a room in a house or a door in a hallway. The prize amount could be substantial. And yet the game’s appeal comes from the highly detailed setting.
4 – Combo Spin and Pick Bonus Features
I don’t remember the game but there was one that ran through three screens on the bonus game. On each screen, you picked a few items to determine a prize.
That was a complicated bonus game but it was fun to play.
5 – Interactive Bonus Features
There is an online slot game, Mr. Vegas, where players get to play casino games inside the game. The normal game consists of spinning the reels just like any other slot.
When one of the bonus features is triggered, the player may play a game of virtual roulette, pull a lever on a slot machine, or throw some dice. It’s a different “spin” on spinning reels.
Another adventure game I played was based on Dungeons and Dragons. The name was something else. The player spins the reels as normal but the bonus feature is a dungeon walk.
The dungeon is filled with treasure and traps. The bonus round can last a long time as long as the player doesn’t walk into a trap. While it’s not a game of skill, it’s not as disappointing as the simple “pick and lose” scenario I described above.
There’s no real skill involved in playing most of these interactive bonus games. They’re all about making random choices.
6 – Skill-Based Bonus Games
I had heard for years that slot machine games are not truly interactive. How many times have you hit “Stop” hoping to catch a bonus game?
The game always spins past the three trigger icons because the outcome was already decided. The “Stop” button just stops the reels from spinning.
There’s a mathematician who says it’s better to let the reels spin on. The random number generator will cycle through a few more numbers if the player waits. If you feel like you’re having a run of bad luck, just wait a couple of minutes between spins.
Maybe that’s another myth, but I’ve played a few games that were truly interactive in the United States. One was war-themed where the player shoots at enemies in the bonus game.
You know it’s a truly interactive game when the screen displays instructions on how to use the controls to guide the weapon or character avatar. It’s possible but expensive to develop some real skill with these games.
I don’t know if people really caught on to these games, but the war game kept my attention for a while. I just wish it had paid better in between bonus rounds.
7 – The “Choose a Style” Bonus Game
I’ve played these games more than I should admit. My wife showed some of them to me. They were online games.
When the bonus round is triggered, the player is prompted to choose a side. It might be a dancer in a dance-off or a good/bad character. The bonus game plays out on the basis of that choice. It creates a different experience.
Another game I’d place in this category prompts the player with a screen to choose how the bonus feature is to play out. It’s like a prize-o-meter. You can choose bigger payouts (they come less frequently) or lower, more frequent payouts.
Conclusion
Some bonus game features are just designed to take your money. For a while, I tried adding to my bet or gambling with my bonus win in a second game. It might be “double or nothing” or some other random game.
These are terrible bonus features. The “double or nothing” prize might look attractive but the chances of winning are less than proportionate. Someone described these games as pure profit for the casino. Players should never risk their winnings from a paid spin in a bonus game.
I’ve shot arrows at apples. I’ve climbed mountains. I’ve swum vast seas. It feels like every possible type of bonus game has been imagined. And yet each year, new games hit the market.
Some bonus games are just pure entertainment. There was a vampire-themed game online a few years back that had incredible music. You’d keep playing just to hit the bonus game.
Modern slot games use space-age console designs. They have great sound systems, play your favorite songs, and use incredibly detailed graphics.
For all that investment, a lot of their bonus games are boring. I’m well past the “push a button to start watching reels spin” stage. For me, the best bonus games always enhance my experience by giving me something to do.
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