Play Discovery Slots for Free

If you have never played an online slot machine before, then let’s begin with the fundamentals. Obviously, you wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for the money, and in order to win money you need to match like-pictures on the reels.

Pairs, threes, fours and fives are all valid for wins on the higher value images (compass, coat of arms, frigate); and just threes, fours and fives on the lower value (lemons, oranges, berries, apples and apricots). The connection between all these things is obviously the fact that Chris Columbus and the like would need fruit to fuel their epic voyages of discovery.

Before you cast the main sail (or whatever they say!), it’s important to know how you can get yourself into the bigger winnings, with a little adjustment. All of which is completely legal, you’ll be relieved to know.

When the screen first loads up you are confronted with five reels, and you get to choose how much money you are putting down on each bet. At the bottom of the screen are controls- hit + or - on the Bet bar and you will add or remove money from your pot. The more you put down the more you will win.

It’s also possible to introduce more, or take away paylines. Paylines are predetermined ‘routes’ to win across the reels. Only winning combinations that land on an active payline are actually valid as a win. So, the more paylines you have in play, the more chances you have of winning. Maybe don’t go in full hog at once, mind – the more paylines and higher Bet Line value you have, the faster your money will vanish, so be cautious if you want to stick around.

In addition to the standard pictures waiting to be matched up, there are a couple of extras you’ll want to keep in mind. First of all, the Gold Coin offers the chance to win up to 30,000 coins, and can also substitute for any other picture except the Scatter and Bonus.

Bonuses look like precious brooches, or some prized jewel. These are lots of fun as they trigger a ‘Seek Your Fortune’ bonus round, furthering your chances of winning big time and adding plenty to the game.

We really, really like Discovery Slots, but perhaps that’s just the old Civ player in us. Either way, there’s something truly inspiring about big sailing ships, old compasses, and the idea of not just exploring, but actually discovering and mapping the world.

Meanwhile, the thought of winning some serious cash isn’t the worst thing we’ve been faced with.

There’s not a huge amount of extra stuff happening in this game, but then it doesn’t really need anything more to make it worth your while. The Bonus round is fun, and Scatters and Gold Coin wilds ensure you won’t get bored just matching up the same basic pictures. It might have been nice to have some more animation in the mix, given how image-led the whole theme is, but realistically that’s not why we’re here – it’s a slots game, not a video game.