Basketball Slot Machine
While we have seen a number of slots themed around sports, the Basketball video slot from Evoplay Entertainment doesn’t try to jump through hoops to bring elaborate symbols or gameplay to the reels. But it doesn’t have to either, as players can focus on scoring some nice wins and triggering some reliable bonuses such as free spins, scatter awards and wild substitutions.
Although the graphics are fairly straightforward, it’s a colourful online casino slot machine, where the 5 reels are set against the Basketball court and surrounded them, we see an enthusiastic crowd, some of whom are animated to help bring the game to life. The cheers of the crowd, chat from the commentators and funky music also help players to feel that they are at the heart of the action.
There’s lower-value players shirts spinning down the reels along with high-paying team emblems, plus a wild Basketball hoop and a flaming ball that acts as a scatter symbol. It’s a classic slot, that has 5 reels and 20 paylines, and where basic winning combinations come from landing 3, 4 or 5 the same kind of symbol across a line on connected reels from left to right.
Playing Basketball
Playable from a low limit of just 0.20 per spin, this game should suit all budgets, although practice sessions on free slots about basketball are a good introduction to the game. A look at the paytable reveals how each line runs across the reels and the relative values of each symbol. It starts with an orange number 9 shirt, purple 10, red J and green Q that will each return 8x, 25x or 100x the line bet when they land on 3, 4 or 5 reels.
To get the higher value coin wins, players will want to see the team emblems fall into place. Prizes of 15x, 88x or 250x will be paid out when either the bat or running wolf banners stop across a payline, while a purple R is valued at 20x, 125x and 500x.
The top prizes come from the Crazy Head or Red Bulls team logos appearing, with each worth 25x, 125x or 888x the line bet. 8’s of course, are considered to be lucky numbers across many countries, particularly in Asia, so the choice of these values isn’t random.
Wild Bonus Symbol
The Basketball hoop is wild, so it’s able to replace any regular symbol and complete winning combinations when it stops in the right places. As well as bridging any gaps in a run of matching symbols, it can also extend a winline across further reels for a higher value prize, or it can even do both at once.
Unlike many wild symbols in other games, this one is also worth something when it lands across a line, even if it doesn’t make any substitutions, with the same 25x, 125x and 888x paid out when it’s on 3, 4 or 5 reels.
If the wild doesn’t make up a winline, or doesn’t substitute for anything else, it will stick in place and all other symbols will spin once more for free.
Free Spins Bonus
The free spins round is where Basketball really scores points, as it’s got the potential to land players with lots of winning combinations. An award is guaranteed once the round is triggered, with 3 of the flaming ball scatter symbols in any positions being enough for a prize of 5x the total stake per spin, not just the line bet.
Any 4 scatters will see a payout of 20x the stake and 5 scatters appearing at once will be worth 80x. Once these have been awarded, 8 free spins will begin and during these, any wilds that appear will become sticky wilds, staying locked in place throughout the rest of the bonus games.
Players fortunate enough to land some wilds in early spins will have them sticking around for longer and with some luck, see them joined by even more wilds before the 8 spins are done. This can lead to multiple winning combos in each spin, although it must be said that this isn’t actually guaranteed.
The Verdict
It’s not the ultimate in exciting graphics, but the Basketball video slot has enough winning potential to make it an interesting game anyway. While standard gameplay is perfectly good, it’s the wild substitutions, re-spins, scatter awards and free spins that make it stand out.
We would have liked to see players have the option to activate just a few lines, but a 0.20 entry point isn’t too bad, and it comes with a decent return to player percentage. Anyone looking for a sports-themed game with lots of chances to score some points should definitely check this one out at sites where games and software by Evoplay Entertainment are featured.
