Play Planets for Free

They often say that strange things happen when the planets align. Well, we're no experts when it comes to astrology, but we do know a thing or two about slot machines. And we can tell you that the only things that happen when these planets align is the chance to win some big cash prizes.

Upon the 5 reels, spinners will find a series of symbols from outer space, some of them familiar and some of them quite alien to our simple human understanding. There are icons depicted planets such as the yellowy red Venus, the dark red Mars, the ringed Saturn and the giant Jupiter. There is even a symbol depicted our little blue and green home, the planet Earth.

However, orbiting among these planets from our solar system are some out of this world symbols which have been used in place of the usual royal card icons.

These are actually glyphs that are used in the astrological and astronomical world to represent the planets, often with reference to the Greek and Roman mythological origins of the planet's name. For instance, players will find a ♆ symbol, representing the trident of the Greek god Poseidon, or Neptune as the Romans called him. There is also a ☿ icon to represent the winged helmet of the messenger gold Hermes, or Mercury. The other two symbols are ♇ for Pluto and a circle with a dot and upward arrow which represents Uranus.

In terms of aesthetics, this Planets slot machine is designed with an aim to place players deep into the beauty of space. The reels are set over a sparkly scene of stars while comets shoot past and strange cosmic noises play.

However, the game is somewhat underwhelming in the quality of its graphics, especially compared to other space-age slot machines out there. The problem is that this effort by Merkur Gaming suffers from appearing a little bit dated, because even though the game does show some 3D animation, the quality is more like something from an old space documentary from the BBC in the 90s!

These reels might not be absolutely mind blowing when it comes to the visual aesthetic, and they don't exactly inspire awe when it comes to the variety of gameplay on offer. That is because Planets doesn't offer spinners with any free games, or any special bonus side games for that matter. In fact, the only special icon involved is a wild symbol – as represented by a blue galaxy symbol. This icon will serve to help players on their prize-winning endeavours by substituting for all other symbols in order to complete line win sequences.

Those line win combinations must be formed from left to right on any of the 5 paylines. Those paylines are permanently positioned, meaning that spinners simply have to choose their wagers per line from the following options: 0.01, 0.02, 0.05, 0.10, 0.20, 0.50, 1.00 and 2.00. So, whenever three or more of the same icon align on a payline, punters can hope to win the following line bet multiplier prizes:

With only 5 paylines in play, players might have to wait a while between each winning spin. And when a small win comes along they can make the most of it by playing one of two gamble games. The first of these gambles is a normal 50/50, double-or-nothing game in which players have to guess the colour of a playing card. The other game, however, offers a special prize ladder which spinners can climb or descend, offering some level of insurance to the gamble.

In truth, you will be able to find other slot machines out there which offer a similar space theme with much more spectacular visual effects and exciting bonus games. However, this game does have merit in the fact that it offers some high risk spins with only 5 paylines, giving patient players the chance to wait for the planets to align for relatively large prizes.