Sherezade 81 Slot Machine
Deep in the Arabian desert you will find a beautiful Princess, a bearded villain and a Genie who will look strikingly familiar to anyone who has seen a certain animated movie that starred Robin Williams. These cartoon characters populate the reels of the Sherezade 81 video slot from Spanish developer R Franco Games and they share spaces with crossed swords, a magic lamp, castle and a window with a view of the full Moon, along with the letter ‘S’. Despite the somewhat derivative choice of symbols, it’s a fantastic looking game that sets the 4 reels within the castle, flanked by stone columns and divided by decorative frames which are topped of in a classic Arabian style.
Once players have taken in this view, they will notice a wheel to the right side of the game that has multiplier values on each of the 8 sections, and experienced punters will probably figure out that this is going to see each winning combination boosted in value. It’s a good guess, as each time the reels spin, the wheel spins with them, on average doubling every second prize, but there’s also a high paying wild symbol and scatter awards to grant your every wish. The ‘81’ of the title comes from the slightly unusual pattern of 81 paylines that run across the game and while this isn’t a common format, it means that there’s loads of different ways to line up matching symbols and to collect some prizes.
R Franco Games has been in the casino games business since 1965 and this Madrid-based company has recently been looking to expand beyond the Spanish, land-based markets to overseas in the online casino and mobile arenas. Slots such as Sherezade 81 show that R Franco can deliver games with great style, attention to the details and enjoyable features, while the range sticks to the rules of fair play at all times and the R Franco range is licensed in no less than seven jurisdictions to ensure that punters from around the world can access them.
Desert Delights
Although 81 paylines is highly unusual, Sherezade 81 also comes with an unconventional number of reels. It means that players will only win a prize when 3 or 4 of the same type of symbol lands across the game from left to right across a line in an unbroken sequence and the amount won depends on which symbols are seen. The smallest prizes are claimed when the magic lamp, hourglass or Arab swords are seen, with each being worth 5x the line stake when you see 3 in a row, and 10x for full lines of 4 of a kind.
The window, castle, or a magic book are all valued at 10x, or 20x, while the rewards for landing the villain of this game are set at 20x when he’s on 3 reels, but there’s a big jump to wins of 200x if he crosses all 4 reels on a payline. The Princess, who will also look somewhat familiar to film fans, is worth 30x, or 300x the line bet, while the top awards come from the swirly ‘S’ symbol, and this pays you 50x, or 500x your bet per line.
Any of these rewards can be multiplied as the red and green wheel spins to the right of the game, although the options are just 1x and 2x, so anyone hoping to have big multipliers applied to a win is going to be a bit disappointed.
Wild Genie
The Genie however, can boost your winnings by up to 8x when he becomes part of a winning combination. This blue character isn’t worth anything on his own but is able to act as any other to complete combinations. If just a single Genie is in the winning line, the base value is doubled, while 2 Genies will multiply the win by 4x and that top 8x multiplier is awarded when 3 Genies are seen with a single example of another symbol in the remaining position of the payline.
Multiplying the Multipliers
Even more chances to multiply wins can be taken if you choose to enter the gamble feature. This optional round takes you to a second screen where the words ‘Double’ and ‘Nothing’ are flashing on and off on sequence and to win the gamble you will need to click the Double button at the right time. It’s a true 50/50 gamble that can be repeated if you get it right, doubling the triggering prize again, but of course, a wrongly-timed click at any point loses the round.
Betting Options
Because all 81 lines are always active, you will be able to claim all winning combinations that land across them, with a starting bet of just 0.20 and the options can let you raise the stakes to a high limit of 150.00 per spin. There’s an Autoplay button that sees them spinning on their own for up to 100 times, and the only other decision needed is whether or not to activate the soundtrack, although it’s unrelated to the Arabian Nights topic and is just a series of beeps and whistles.
You won’t need any magic lanterns to win prizes in this game as it’s completely fair, with an independent testing company auditing the software to make sure all results are randomly decided.
Other Slots in the sand
Sherezade 81 is based on the Arabian Nights stories, which have been famous for centuries. It’s no wonder then that there’s an Arabian Nights video slot and this game from SGS Universal features Princesses, heroes, a camel and naturally, a blue Genie. There’s wild and scatter symbols to enhance the gameplay, plus a free spins bonus round with multipliers attached to any winnings.
The Genie’s Fortune slot from Betsoft is another cartoon caper and it features a wild flying carpet that can float across the reels for some huge bonus payouts, plus it’s got a cheeky monkey who launches a Click me Crazy game that uncovers extra payouts on adjacent reels whenever he’s seen on the middle of the 5 reels. A treasure chest takes you away to a free spins round, but the highlight has got to be the Genie’s Lamp feature, which grants all your wishes, or at least gives you 6 to choose from, each of which pays out a bonus prize.
Worth Playing for 1001 Nights?
This attractive slot machine brings a classic tale to your desktop PC, iPhone, iPad, Android or Windows smartphones and tablet computers. Although the symbols might have been heavily inspired by a movie, they look good and there’s lots of little animations that help to bring it all to life as the reels spin.
With 81 different lines running across the game, there should be plenty of winning spins, although you may find that many will be lower value payouts, which most players prefer, as there’s less waiting around for ages for higher value winning combinations to land.
But there’s always a 50/50 chance that a win is going to be doubled in value when the wheel spins up the right sections, and with the chance to multiply prizes over and over when you click the Gamble button, who knows what magic the Genie can work on each winning spin?
