Play Deal or No Deal: What's In Your Box for Free

Despite being a novelty theme, steeped in imagery from the show, there’s nothing overly gimmicky about this slot machine. When we saw the name, we expected fancy layouts and HD animated graphics, but here you get a simple yet effective interface to play upon; we like this subtle approach. It incorporates the shows style, yet introduces the brand’s own flare for casino games.

Due to the laid back appearance of the title, the grid is your typical 3x5. However, the controls are found both on the left and right side of the screen, and the title is mostly out of sight, unless the reels are spinning. Moreover, boxes above the matrix remind you of the different progressive jackpots available to players having a punt with real cash; if you’re playing for fun, no amounts will be shown.

Getting a call from the banker is a nerve racking moment - it could be your way to quick money and success or walking away with nothing but the smell of defeat. Setting that tone in a slot machine isn’t exactly easy, but Blueprint Gaming have made a selection of random bonuses ignite that excitement once more.

Even though you won’t know when, or even if, the phone call will come, you’ll hear the shrill of the ringing phone and see the logo vibrating into life; then you know the banker means business. After the initial call, you’ll be presented with three of the Deal or No Deal red boxes, each of which has a prize inside.

The five options given sound most impressive, and in some respects they are, but a lot of the time they’re a means of including more wilds or selecting a special symbol, which isn’t nearly as fancy as the titles make them sound. Nevertheless, to have such large variance in a slot machine is a cause for celebration, even if we can see flaws in the features.

So far you’ve been bombarded with a lot of diversity, but it isn’t over yet, for we’ve not even got to the What’s In Your Box Bonus. Unlike the Banker’s Bonus that occurs randomly, this feature activates when three of the associated symbols are part of a winning combination; you’ll need three or more if that’s to happen.

Once you’ve got that tricky part out of the way, it’s back to selecting from boxes and picking your round - where have we seen this before? Oh yes, the Banker’s Bonus! Here the prizes are slightly different in nature, but essentially Blueprint Gaming has regurgitated one bonus round to create another, and it really does show.

It’s hard not to like such a varied slot machine, especially when the volatility is on the lower end of the scale. Nonetheless, don’t go expecting twists and turns with every spin, for the variety offered isn’t as broad as you first think, as the two sets of bonuses discussed above highlight. Even though opening boxes is what Deal or No Deal is all about, having two bonuses that have the same mechanics breeds boredom and familiarity - we want to be surprised, not waiting for the expected.