When the transition from classic pokies to video pokies took place in the early days of online gambling, the video pokies were a simple affair. They had wild and scatter symbols but no bonus features. The video pokies tended to have high variance. These online pokies were suited for fast paced gambling and players had to persist in order to hit big payouts. Many such online pokies can still be found at Australian online casinos powered by Microgaming such as Casino Mate, Royal Vegas and Jackpot City. You will find them on the winners’ lists at these online casinos. This article looks at some of them.
Each decade has its fads and it was no different with the 1980s. Microgaming has captured the times in its online pokie Crazy 80s. The psychedelic colours on the screen set the scene. The highest paying symbol is the 80s girl in the funky jewellery. Five of these symbols on an active payline pay 5000 times the line bet. Another symbol gives the midriff view of the girl. The other symbols depicts the popular items from the 80s like cordless phone, fashion magazines, shades, car keys, Rubik’s Cube and make up ingredients. All thematic symbols start paying from two like symbols aligned from left to right. The low paying symbols are paying card items. The wild symbol is the hi-fi stereo. It substitutes for all symbols except the scatter symbol. The wild symbol does not award line payouts. The scatter symbol is the pair of fashionable boots. It awards payouts multiplied by the total bet when two or more appear anywhere on the reels. Crazy 80s is a 9 paylines video pokie. The maximum line bet is AU$100, which makes the online pokie suitable for high rollers.
Big Top is the circus themed online pokie with the same template. The thematic symbols are ring master, clown, elephant and seal. The highest line payout of 5000 times the line bet is awarded by the Big Top logo. The Wild logo is the wild symbol and the monkey is the scatter symbol. Carnaval video pokie brings to life the Rio parade. The symbols are bright and bold in keeping with the festive theme. The high paying symbols are Samba dancer, clown, banner and trumpet. The Carnaval logo awards the highest line payout of 5000 times the line bet. The scatter payouts are awarded by the Scatter logo. You will realise that using the same payout structure how visually different pokies are created.