Genie's Gems Slot
Genie’s Gems is a 5-reel, 5-line, 5-coin video slot from casino software specialist Microgaming. Promising a maximum base game pay-out of 10,000 coins, the technicolour slot features cartoonish symbols related to the genie theme, including golden minarets, Arabian carpets, magic lamps and – of course – shiny gems. You don’t need to rub the Genie’s lamp to win big prizes, incidentally; all you have to do is find combinations of three, four or preferably five matching symbols.
Coins and Paylines
As stated, there are are 5 paylines in Genie’s Gems. Bets start at 1.25, or 0.25 per line, and rise to 25, equal to 5 per line. As such, the game is probably unlikely to appeal to high rollers, who like to flash the cash and play for upwards of 75 per spin.
A Simple Layout
Genie’s Gems takes place on a simple 5x3 layout with a purple colour scheme. The game title appears in italics along the bottom and the usual controls are arrayed at the foot of the screen, including buttons for Spin, Bet Max and Bet One. There’s also + and - buttons to enable the player to regulate his bet, and there’s a Help button too. If you wish to view the pay-table, just click on the tab to the right of the game title.
The sound effects of the game are the usual casino fare, incidentally – there’s nothing modern about the audio.
The Genie and the Lamp
There are nine symbols in Genie’s Gems, although none of them have any special properties. That’s right, there are no wild or scatter symbols in this slot, which will certainly bug some experienced players. With that being said, Microgaming have made up for the oversight by ensuring the pay-table is generous. Thus, you don’t need free spins or wilds to win big – you just need to line up matching symbols, starting from the leftmost reel.
Regular wins, of course, are calculated by taking the number of coins won, multiplied by the number of coins played per pay-line. As such, the more you bet, the bigger the prize is when you hit a win.
The graphics are relatively simple, the symbols are two-dimensional and there’s nothing scenic about the reel grid itself. Icons include playing card symbols – a 10, a Jack, a Queen and a King – plus five symbols related to the theme. These include a golden magic lamp, an Arabian carpet, a minaret, a gem and the Genie himself, who just like all genies sports a goatee, some golden earrings and a purple turban.
As you may have guessed, the playing cards represent the lower value symbols. The 10 card is one of only two which grants pay-outs for two matching symbols, although it’s just a single credit. You’ll win two credits for three 10s, 10 for four and 100 for five.
Next best is the Jack, paying two for two, four for three, 20 for four and 200 for five. The Queen pays four for three, 40 for four and 400 for five and the King grants five for three, 50 for four and 500 for five in a line.
Among the themed symbols, the minaret is least lucrative, although it still pays 1,000 for five, 100 for four and 10 for three. The carpet pays 1,500 for five, 150 for four and 15 for three, while the golden lamp pays 2,500 for five, 250 for four and 25 for three.
At the top of the scale is the genie and his blue gem. The pay-outs associated with the gem are excellent, including 50 credits for just three, 500 for four and a whopping 5,000 for five. Nothing can touch the genie, though. The big dawg pays 100 for three, 1,000 for four and the 10,000 grand prize for five in a row.
Genie-us? Sadly Not
There’s no getting around it, Genie’s Gems is a dated video slot. If, like most, you enjoy playing slots where the possibility exists to win free spins and utilise wilds to form winning combinations, you are unlikely to be tempted by the smug-faced blue genie.
However, if you just want to play a simple, hassle-free slot in the mould of the old machines, there’s no harm in giving this one a go. The graphics are elementary, but the pay-outs are pretty generous on the whole. Hey, it’s better than 99% of fruit-themed video slots, put it that way!
