Greetings and salutations, my fellow bingo fans! Today, I’m actually planning on writing about something a tad bit different from before. Yes, the rumors are true, ladies and gentlemen – today our topic of discussion will be slots, more specifically online slots (though really, most of what I say can be rather easily applied to physical slots as well). Why? Well, that’s because I believe that slots and bingo have a lot in common, and that many of you bingo lovers will also enjoy slots! Sure, the similarities may not be obvious at first, but it should really tell you something when research has found that the people who play slots and the people who play bingo belong to the same demographic. Now, I’m no scientist, but maybe they’re onto something, wouldn’t you say?
So, what are slots, anyway? Aren’t they just a bunch of reels that you spin in the hopes of matching the symbols? In as much as bingo is just a bunch of balls rolling around. There’s so much more going on in modern slots that most people don’t suspect! There’s bonus games, gamble options, free spins, jackpots… I mean, sure, let’s be honest here, the main gameplay feature of slots is still pushing a button and watching some symbols spin, but that’s not really all that’s happening on the screen. Slots were, first and foremost, designed to be a spectacle even when they don’t provide any interactivity. Take, for example, “Aliens”, one of my most beloved games. Based on the classic James Cameron movie about a group of space marines stuck on a planet filled with murderous xenomorphs, “Aliens” features a bonus round where one of the marines has to navigate through a hallway, collecting ammo and dispatching aliens until he gets to the Alien Queen and exterminates her, which earns you a gigantic bonus. Whether or not our protagonist will succeed is 100% entirely up to chance, all you can do is stand back and watch, but I’ll be damned if it’s not one of the most entertaining bonus games ever!
That’s not to say that all bonus rounds lack interactivity – due to laws preventing arcade-style minigames in gambling (which is actually going to be overruled in multiple territories soon, so yay) most bonus games involve choosing one or more of several objects. For example, one of the mini games in “South Park” involves spraying hippies with a fire extinguisher, with each hippie bringing you a certain monetary bonus but if you spray a police officer by mistake the game is over. In addition, some games, such as “King Kong”, offer more reflex-based bonuses where you need to smash the planes out of the sky before they can shoot Kong down. And then there’s the various features which aren’t related to the bonus games, such as the so-called “gamble” option. In some games, such as “Game of Thrones” or “Gladiator”, you can choose to wager any winnings on a coin toss – if you win, you get to double it, but if you lose you end up right where you started!
Overall, the point that I’m trying to make is that you shouldn’t try to write off slots just because they’re simplistic – that’s what a lot of people are doing with bingo, and we all know it’s not very fair. Give them a shot! Who knows, best case scenario, you might end up finding a new hobby?