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It’s not a secret probably that a set of “beloved” game machines differs in diverse countries. The reasons are both national mentality and juridical fine points. Everywhere practically both classic slots (invented in USA) and video slots (invented in Australia) are spread. There is no talking about national specifity, they are everywhere. Let’s talk today about more exotic variants which you’ll meet not anywhere.
We’ll start with far away Japan and “pachinko” game. This game appeared in Japan in the first half of 20th century and is a type of pinball in whole. Player buys metallic balls which are loading in game machine and shoot to the playing field one by one. There the ball jump aside of different bars and fall to the down side of game machine (machines are horizontal but not vertical like in pinball) or get into one of the prize pocket on the field. The name of the game itself is a onomotopoeia: “pachi” is a sound uttering when ball reflectioning bars. Playing machine gives a winning with balls the same way. Here the interestest starts. Money prizes are prohibited by law in Japan (that’s why ordinary slots are so unpopular there). After game finishing a player takes balls and goes to a shop situated in playing hall where balls exchanging for material prizes – candies, toys, etc. He comes out of a hall with these prizes and goes to a nearest back street and exhanges prizes on money – prizes get back to pachinko hall and happy player goes away.
In modern pachinko machines player has a possibility to regulate a power of droping balls, it means that game acquires skill game features, it’s said that specialists are able to play pachinko running a surplus. Further in new games there are three windows with numbers which are change when hiting. If three identical numbers happen, playing machine comes to “prize game” rate with augmented winning chances by opening additional winning pocket. Generally, payings level in game machine is adjustable, hall’s owners change it from time to time, average payings are about 80% but some game machines can be adjust on “distribution” for players attraction. This game is very popular in Japan, 50 millions of Japanese play it and yearly halls’ turnover exceed a half trillion dollars!
There are rather like playing machines in Europe too. For example known for everyone “crane-machines” where you try to get teddy bears, they haven’t money prizes also. By the way I’ll note that payings level in these game machines is adjustable too, and winnings have a habit to occur in equel periods of time at that, so an observant player can get an advantage. Another type of playing machines is similar with pachinko by functioning principle – you drop a coin, it falls to a game field in a random way. The field consists of two parts: lower side is fixed and a platform moves on it. A coin fall on a platform first, and if you’re lucky one, it will push off one or some coins from the platform which will fall on the fixed part and the platform will push them off further down. Everything that fell – is your gain. But don’t try to incline the game machine – there are sensors which will block payings. Though you will not meet online versions of such machines. May be somewhere in Japan pachinko is virtualized but there is no main soft suppliers of this game in online casino. It’s clear that playing internet version of “crane-machine” is not so interesting, yet may be in the future it will appear.
So and English “fruit” playing machines can be find in online casino, though not everywhere now. The basis of such slots are ordinary classic slots usually, one-line often. They call “fruit” because the most typical symbols were different fruits. But unlike ordinary slots English game machines have some additional possibilities which are “given” to a player in a random way. The first possibility is to hold any number of drums. For example two lemons and one cherry turn out. You hold drums with lemons, during next spin only drum with cherry will revolve. If you’re lucky, the third lemon will occur and you’ll win. Other possibility is to push one of the drums (or some even). In this way the drum move one symbol down. Again you have two lemons and cherry, but you see that there is one more lemon under the cherry, you push the drum with cherry and win! Payings in offline fruit game machines are not rather big – about 80% (minimal permissible level – 70%).
Further improvement of fruit slots are AWP games (Amusement with Prizes). Prize round appears here which activate by fulfiling additional conditions (usually additional side symbols are add to main simbols, you’ll start prize game by collecting some side symbols). In the prize game you can play some Hi-Low rounds in turn (a number from 1 to 12 is given, you have to guess if the next one will be higher or lower). Every won round increases prize. You can reach a top of pyramid where the gain will be about some thousands coins, if you’ll win 30 times in succession. You can choose the variant of gain often – money, pushings, special prize game. These type of games widespread presents not only in England but in Microgaming online casino too.
As you see, there is a “national colour” in game machines too. Not each of them you can meet online, but some novelties you’ll see there surely. So if you want something new – welcome to the game!