Golden Games Slot Machine
There’s no shortage of video slots with ‘gold’ or ‘golden’ in the title, but Golden Games is certainly worth more than a cursory glance. The 5-reel, non-progressive Playtech title is a tribute of sorts to the various sporting tournaments that take place throughout the world. If you’re of a sporty disposition, or if you simply enjoy playing 25 payline slots with excellent cash prizes and a wide betting range, plug some coins into Golden Games and aim for a podium finish.
Getting started
In Golden Games, you must fix a bet-per-spin and determine the number of paylines you wish to play: you can play on one, two, three, right up to 25. The coin size varies from 0.01 to 5, and you can bypass the process by simply clicking Bet Max if you prefer. At maximum bet, you’ll be wagering 1,250 credits per spin, so do make sure you’ve thought it through before playing! When you’ve decided on your bet, just push the Spin button to initiate the reels, or opt-in on Autoplay for uninterrupted spinning. The speed of the game is adjustable via the Settings tab.
The Golden Games grid has five reels and three rows. The sound effects are of the normal casino type, though the colourful symbols regularly animate, revolve and flash. For example, the basketball shoots into the net and the Golden Games gold medal revolves.
Icons of the games
In Golden Games, all wins pay to left to right except the scatter, and only the highest win is paid per line. All payline wins are multiplied by the line bet.
The symbols in Golden Games accord with the general theme of competition. There are several lower-value logos, which are golden symbols showing a cyclist, a fencer, a boxer, a swimmer and a sprinter. These replace the traditional playing card icons, a fact that we can all celebrate! The best-paying of the low-value symbols is the golden cyclist: it pays 10 for three, 30 for four and 150 for five.
Other athletic symbols include a tennis racquet and ball; a basketball shooting towards the hoop; a handheld digital timer; and an Olympic barbell loaded with plates. The most valuable among these regular icons is the digital timer; it pays five for two, 25 for three, 75 for four and 500 for five-in-a-line. Next it’s the tennis racquet, supplying four for two, 20 for three, 60 for four and 400 for five.
Special symbols
There are no fewer than three unique symbols in Golden Games. They comprise a scatter, a wild and a bonus icon.
The wild is the Golden Games gold medal, and it is able to replace all symbols except its fellow special icons. It also pays generous sums to those who can find it on active paylines. Find two and you’ll be rewarded with 10 credits, find three to win 100, four to claim 1,000 and all five to trigger a gargantuan 10,000 pay-out.
The scatter is represented by a muscled athlete preparing to launch a discus. It pays generous multipliers, including 250 for five-in-a-line, but importantly, you can win pay-outs when scatters land in any configuration. In other words, they don’t have to form starting from the leftmost reel, nor do they need to play from left-to-right at all.
Lastly, the bonus icon is the gateway to free spins. You’ll win 20 free spins for finding the bonus symbol on reels one and five simultaneously, and not only that, but you’ll be awarded a 2x multiplier on all wins made during the free spins round.
Olympic gamble
A win activates the Gamble button which, when clicked, initiates the ubiquitous Playtech risk feature, whereby you can bet winnings from your last spin to try and increase them. It’s a good ol’ fashioned guess-the-suit game. If you guess right, you double your money; if you guess wrong, the dealer wins and you forfeit everything in your account. Risky, certainly, but potentially lucrative.
Going for gold
Golden Games is an excellent sports-themed video slot. Play it in an Olympic year, play it in any year: you can count on top graphics, brilliant game features, a wide range of betting options and an attractive jackpot.
