Play Baker Street Adventures for Free

It’s a clean-looking, modern gambler that’s as simple as anyone could ask for- deceptively so, of course. The graphics are bold, cartoonish and pretty easy to recognise in a hurry, which is good as this is obviously about matching up the ‘clues’ to one another, thus solving that great case of the lines that want to be won.

There are enough of them to go at, too. You can choose anywhere between one and 25 lines to play, which makes this visually busier than most. But when you’re stepping into the mind of The World’s Greatest Detective, you need to be up to task if there’s even a chance of getting your man. Or should that be money?

All the symbols are classic visions of England, along with iconography relating to Sherlock Holmes. So you might be matching up his trademark hat, Big Ben, a map of Great Britain, or an old pocket watch. Perhaps less obvious are the violin (the sleuth himself was an avid musician, not to mention opium addict, but that’s another story) and the antique pistol. You can only assume the latter relates to the period in which the stories were set.

OK, so we know what kind of things we’re looking for, but getting to grips with the actual game is a different matter. Before you begin, you’ll want to set how much you want the value of each bet to be by adjusting the coin value in the bottom of the screen.

Next, choose how many lines you want to play at once. This will increase your chances of winning, but in order to increase your chances of winning really big the coin value might be the most important thing to consider. Or just hit ‘Max Bet’ to go to the top of the bet scale.

OK, like Holmes with a new client at his doorstep rambling about murder most horrid, it’s time to get going. Obviously, the idea is to match up combinations of icons, each paying out varying amounts.

There are also Bonus and Scatter symbols, which trigger features that basically give you the chance to take home even more cash. Scatter symbols (Dr. Watson) in threes, fours or fives anywhere on the screen will begin a free spin mode. You can have a generous ten to 15 of these freebies. Pick up a Bonus and you’ll be tasked with some real detective work. Or at least research – hit the books, find the clues, and solve the case, if you can, to get even more from the money you’ve put in.

If you’re a Sherlock Holmes fan and like winning big then really there’s not a lot not to like about Baker Street Adventures. It’s fun to play – simple enough but with loads of little details that will make you want to take on another mystery straight away.

It’s disappointing that some more iconic imagery from the original stories hasn’t been used- you can’t help thinking Scatter should have been the Hound of the Baskervilles, and there simply must be at least a passing reference to Moriarty, the arch enemy of our well meaning detective and his loyal partner in riddle and rhyme solving.

Even so, the game is good enough to make you forgive such omissions and start the ball rolling, or rather slots spinning. After all, there’s a game afoot, Watson!