Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup Slots
At the time of writing this review of the Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup video slot, the tournament hadn’t started, so if you are reading it after the event, we hope it was a great World Cup and that the USA beat Germany 8 – 0 in the Final. Stepping back to reality now, and we have a slot machine that’s filled with football-themed symbols like goalkeeper’s gloves, boots, fans and flags. It’s a traditionally designed 5-reel, 40-payline game where symbols are arranged in 3 rows. There’s nothing radical about it and certainly nothing radical about the simple gameplay which has just wild substitutions and scatter awards for the bonus features.
We think it’s a bit of a missed open goal, as a game based on such a massive tournament should attract loads of players. But there’s no side games, free spins, multiplier symbols or even the sounds of cheering crowds, commentators or Vuvuzelas to liven things up. Just a faintly annoying series of rapid blooping noises can be heard and we found ourselves turning the soundtrack off pronto. But there’s plenty of gamblers who like simple games and perhaps people who have never played a slot before will be drawn in by the subject matter.
First Half Standard Symbols
The reels are set on the pitch of an out-of-focus stadium and surrounded by a very basic frame that fits in with the overall style. But symbols are clear and colorful, with any 3 of a kind across a payline running from the left side being all that’s needed to score a winner. The prizes are multiples of the amount staked per line and you can activate any number of those lines. However, it’s worth noting that f a big winning combination lands on one that’s not in play it won’t count, so most punters play them all and adjust their wagers to suit.
Airhorns, boots, an electronic scoreboard and the gloves are all worth the same, paying out 20x the line bet when they land on 3 reels, while 4 across the reels will pay 100x. The full set of 5 across an active payline will see returns of 500x. Yellow and red cards, plus a chequered flag are each valued at 40x, 200x and 800x, while the stopwatch and whistle are each worth 100x, 300x or 1,200x the line stake.
The top paying standard symbols are the blue and red number 7’s, which will each pay back winnings of 100x, 400x and 2,000x the line stake when either is seen on 3, 4, or 5 reels across an active payline.
Second Half Feature Symbols
The Joker of this game is a fan in a red white and blue jesters’ hat, which is a clever design touch. He’s also a wild symbol that will act as all others, apart from the ball, helping to complete lines of matching symbols if he’s able to fill in the gaps in a continuous run. It’s also possible to land a winning combination of 3 or 4 matching symbols and have the wild on the reels to the right side, which will turn them into longer lines of the same kind for higher payouts.
Completing this hat-trick of wild symbol rewards, if it makes up a line without coming on as a substitute, the payouts are 200x, 1,000x and a massive 10,000x the line stake.
But the best rewards are still to come, as the football is a special scatter symbol that doesn’t need to be in any particular places and can literally be scattered around the reels to pay out a prize. If you see 3 footballs at once, the prize is 800x, while 4 will pay out 4,000x and the winner is scored if you are lucky enough to see 5 football symbols following a spin, with 80,000x your line bet returned to you. Goooaaallll!!!
Russian Roulette
There’s a gamble button that you can click after any winning spin and this opens up a second screen where there’s a face down playing card in view. The triggering win is doubled if you correctly guess the color of the card, either red or black. While the gamble can be repeated up to 5 times over, or until the high limit is reached, any wrong pick loses the round along with the original prize that started it.
World Cup Wagers
The amount won depends of course, on how much you bet per spin and assuming you’ve made the wise choice to play all 40 lines, the minimum stake is 0.40. This can be raised in stages to the maximum wager of 80.00 each spin, which equals some massive prizes when the right symbols land in place.
Other options in this game include testing it out in a free Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup video slot mode. You can also activate the Auto spins, and have that annoying soundtrack play at a volume to suit you and those around you.
It’s playable on Android and Windows phones or tablets, as well as iPhones, iPads and desktop PC’s.
Soccer Mad
There’s quite a few Soccer-themed online slot machines on the market, which is hardly surprising given the popularity of the sport. A personal favorite is the Football Rules video slot from Playtech, which comes with the pin-sharp graphics and outstanding features that the company is so adept at.
Symbols of shirts, the ref, a stadium and goalie are joined by an over-excited fan who is the wild symbol and a happy player holding the World Cup trophy. He triggers a bonus game where you pick footballs to reveal a number of free spins and multipliers that will be applied to any wins during them. The Dollar Ball feature is another side game that’s seen a number of Playtech slots where you pick 5 numbers to win a jackpot.
The same developer also has the Football Carnival slot, which sets the reels in the Brazilian city of Rio De Janeiro. Players, fans, the famous statue of Jesus and the Brazilian flag all feature. The game logo starts 10 free spins with a rising multiplier in play throughout them. Just like Soccer, it’s a beautiful game.
Full Time Score
We’re a little disappointed in the lack of bonus features with this slot machine, but the point about ease of gameplay and the potential for some huge payouts is valid. It could attract newcomers to the exciting world of casino slot machines, while still appealing to experienced punters who just like the sport.
It looks quite good, plays fair and can be enjoyed across multiple phones and tablets, so if your waiting for a match to start, maybe a few spins of this slot will add to the anticipation of the real games.
