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If you took a straw poll of slot players and asked them what their biggest annoyance was when playing a slot game, I am pretty sure that near to the top of that list would come slot games that offer you a 'win' that is considerably less than the bet you paid to start the reels in motion.
Is it really a 'win' if you are spending say 2.50 on a spin, and you get back just 0.25 as win? To my mind that is just a smaller loss than an actual win.
The thing is, with so many lines on modern slots and so many ways to win on each game, companies have to offer lower and lower value wins in order for the slots to remain workable. This can be frustrating, especially on those lower variance games where you appear to be winning frequently, yet by the end of a session, your bankroll has taken a hell of a beating.
However, every so often a slot game comes along that bucks that trend and Pragmatic Play's latest offering Joker's Jewels is one such slot.
First off, this is a medium to higher variance game and the more you bet on each spin, then higher the variance can be at times. So don't be expecting a win on every spin on this slot as it isn't going to happen.
There is a good reason for that though. The minimum win on this slot comes by landing just two of the lowest paying symbols on the reels and the lowest pay out you can get back from the game is the same as what you bet. That is almost unheard of in a modern slot game.
However, that's not all, even three and four symbol wins can pay out some sizeable wins and if you hit some of the big five symbol jackpots, well the prizes can be huge (up to 25,000 if you play for the maximum bet of 0.25).
So how does this new style of slot from Pragmatic Play shape up? Let's take a closer look and find out.
Overview
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Presentation
It's fair to say that Pragmatic Play, who have a strong reputation for quality when it comes to presenting their slots, have gone for a more retro feel with the Joker's Wild slot and to be fair, it works very well. Although this is a five-reel game, the way the game works and the value of the pays makes it feel like an older slot game and while perhaps not truly retro, it does have more in keeping with older style mechanical slots than newer digital ones.
All pay lines are displayed at the top of the reels and the five reels are prominently displayed in the middle of the screen against a blue and purple backdrop. The graphics are more cartoon style, but they work very well with how the game is set up.
Lastly, we move on to the sound and the best I can say about this is that it will be like Marmite. You will either love the sounds, or loathe them (but there is a mute button if you feel the need to tone things down). Along with a rather cheery joker-circus style musical accompaniment, you are also given a collection of strange sound effects as the reels spin and these definitely evoke a period of slots (1980s is my recollection).
The sounds may be polarizing, but I rather liked them, although I can see after playing for a good while, it could become a little grating.
What's on the reels?
There are a total of eight symbols on the reels and what is fabulous about the Joker's Jewels slot is how much each of them pays out compared to your standard bet. Played at maximum bet, here is what each of the eight symbols will pay out:
Given that each spin at max bet level is 25.00, you can see that if you win, then you are at least guaranteed to get back your bet and if you land more than two symbols, then you will win at least 4x your bet in return. Of course, for the minimum bet of 0.25, then the amounts paid out are scaled down by 1/100th (so the maximum win for 0.25 per spin is 250.00).
Wild features
There is no Wild symbol on the reels in the Joker's Jewels slot.
Free Spins features
The Joker's Jewels slot does not have any Free Spins feature in the game.
Other bonus features
The main bonus feature of the Joker's Jewels slot aside from the impressive pay table is the Bonus symbol. This is a crown with the word Bonus underneath and this symbol is different to all the other symbols as it acts like a Scatter symbol, rather than a standard symbol.
What this means is that if you want to trigger a three, four or five symbol bonus win, then you can land those symbols anywhere across the reels. You don't need to land them on one of the 5 lines in order to land a win. Given that even at 0.25 per spin, five of the bonus symbols will land you a top prize of 62.50, this is a big positive and this is one of the key symbols on the slot that helps players land some sizeable wins.
Best feature of the Joker's Jewels slot
Without doubt the very best feature of the Joker's Jewels slot is the fact that the paytable is so generous when you hit. Knowing that the minimum win is at least the same as your bet and that any three symbol win will pay you back at least 4x the total bet you made makes a huge difference to how you view the slot. You don't tend to mind those longer runs of losing spins as you know that if you hit a bigger value win, you can wipe out the loss you made. That's not always a given mind you (it is a medium to high variance slot after all) but when you do hit a win, your balance at least looks like you have had a win and mentally, that is a big lift for the player.
What does the Joker's Jewels slot lack?
Of course, with such a generous pay table, Joker's Jewels can't have too many bonus features as the pays would make it unviable for the casino to run if you could win even more than what is already available in the standard games. As such, you won't find Free Spins or any other bonus features other than the Bonus Scatter symbol paying out anywhere across the reels. While normally I would criticize a slot for this, I think that given the pays on this slot, it is entirely understandable why there are not other bonus features and to be truthful, I think the slot works perfectly well as it stands.
Conclusion
I have to give top marks to Pragmatic Play for having the guts to take a standard five-reel slot and give it a real twist and produce something that is similar to other games, yet so very different in so many ways. If you enjoyed the halcyon days of slot games back in the 70s, 80s and 90s then I have absolutely no doubt you will love this slot. Same if you like games that offer you generous payouts when you win, rather than those annoying 10% of your bet wins. This isn't an easy slot to get the better of, you do need a sizeable bankroll and patience to hit the wins, but if you have both and get lucky, then the Joker's Jewels may well be yours one day.
Ratings
Good Luck!
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