Play Football Star for Free

As slots go, Football Star is fairly well advanced. The symbols are well defined on the reels, and the backdrop is a full-to-capacity football stadium. Every bit of the game is colourful, from the verdant green of the grass on the pitch to the luscious background colours on the reels themselves. Symbols include a referee, a whooshing football, a pitch, a pair of red football boots and several action shots of players mid-game. Whether you’re playing this one in a real bricks-and-mortar casino, or on your tablet or smartphone as a mobile slot, you’re sure to appreciate the care and attention that’s gone into the design.

To get started, you’ll need to place a minimum bet of 0.50. The maximum bet is 50 and the jackpot is 250x. Football Star is a medium-variance game that supplies regular pay-outs thanks to a combination of stacked wilds, free spins, collapsing reels and even a multiplier.

To hit the back of the net, simply form winning combinations just like any old slot. One to watch out for, though, is the wild, which appears on reels three, four and five. The wild is the Football Star logo, and there are more than 40 on the reels; use it to substitute for other symbols, but bear in mind it cannot replace the whooshing football scatter.

In the bonus game, a Striking Wild feature means the wild can turn an entire reel wild at any given moment. When this happens, you’re liable to slide along the grass on your knees in the customary footballer-celebrating-a-goal fashion.

What’s a Microgaming slot without a free spins round? Not a Microgaming slot, we hear you reply, to which we doff our (imaginary) caps. The free spins are activated when you hit three or more football scatters. Three scatters grants 15 free spins, while four grants 20. Hit five scatters and you’ll be entitled to 25. On the downside, the free spins cannot be re-triggered.

The cascading reels feature is worth a mention. This feature comes into play during free spins and helps you hit more winning combinations. You can also earn a multiplier of up to 10x with each successive win – just keep an eye on the multiplier scale situated above the reels.

As pay-out symbols explode, new icons scroll into view from above to replace them. When this happens, the odds of you stringing together a chain of wins are increased. Factor in the random Striking Wild bonus and the free spins round is where it’s all happening: if the Striking Wild feature triggers in play, an entire reel will turn wild. If, at this time, you’ve already landed a couple of wilds across the board, you can land some truly satisfying wins.

Microgaming have come good with this game. Not only will it appeal to football fans in general, but it’ll strike a chord with those still reminiscing about the glorious 2014 World Cup. Football Stars features nice animations, relevant sound effects and an impressive array of bonus features which should keep you entertained until the final whistle (or when your other half calls from the hallway, urging you to stop playing slots). After all, how many slot games can you point to that have free spins, collapsing reels, stacked wilds and a random Striking Wild bonus? Not many is the answer. While the jackpot could be heftier – why not make it equal to a typical English Premier League footballer’s weekly wage – Football Stars will suit most soccer-mad gamers.