Slots are the most popular category of games at online casinos for many good reasons. For instance, there are literally thousands to choose from each with a different theme, graphics and sounds, they’re hugely fun and easy to play, they have the potential to line your pockets with lots of winnings, and they’re available at hundreds of top sites.
This begs the question of what are the best online slots? This is very difficult to answer on account of there being so many brilliant virtual slots in circulation (and new ones being added all the time) from many globally renowned and respected online software vendors i.e. the firms that design, develop and license games to online casinos.
Perhaps a better question (and one that’s easier to answer) is what are the best cult-classic virtual slot machines you should try? The answer to this are highlighted below in the form of three online slots that have been around for a quite some time and yet still manage to entice new and seasoned slot fans internationally on a regular basis.
Kicking off our short but top list of cult-classic slot machines you must try is Gold Rally.
Gold Rally
The best feature of this largely unassuming 3 reel, 3 row and 8 pay line gold mining-themed 2004 offering from Playtech is its progressive jackpot that regularly exceeds $1 million before it pays out. It even paid out a record $6.3 million a few years ago.
You’ll find the game’s three ragtag miners close to the action in their rickety rock cart. In terms of the game’s attractive and engaging symbols, these are comprised of bags of gold, sticks of dynamite, golden horseshoes, lanterns, pick axes, six shooters, rock cart, ‘GR’ logo and the gold scales which double as the game’s generous scatter symbol.
Land five scatters anywhere on the grid and you’ll win 5x your bet. Land 6 and you’ll win 10x, 7 for 50x and 8 for 200x your bet. But for a shot at the game’s biggest payday i.e. the progressive, you must land all 9 for your life to be changed forever in an instant.
This slot also has a lucrative bonus game which is activated when you land a stick of dynamite in each corner of the grid. You’ll be awarded 1 and 5 picks randomly, where you pick areas to blow up which will hopefully reveal buried gold and your winnings.
Gold Rally is one of the more affordable progressive jackpot slots as it accepts a single coin size of $2 (or equivalent in another currency) per line. And because you can play one to eight lines the game’s minimum bet is only $2 while its maximum bet is $16.
Gonzo’s Quest
If you’re a sucker for slots with exemplary HD + 3D-style graphics and animations with the ideal sound effects and background music as an accompaniment, look no further than Gonzo’s Quest slot from leading Swedish online casino games developer NetEnt.
Based on the adventures of real life Spanish conquistador Gonzalo Pizarro in the 16th century, Gonzo’s Quest follows the explorer in his search for riches beyond compare. What makes this game such a cult-classic is its pioneering use of its ‘Avalanche’ feature.
This is where instead of spinning reels, blocks drop down into the 5 column, 3 row and 30 pay line platform. Any bocks that form part of a winning combination explode and disappear to make way for new blocks that ‘avalanche’ down from above and so on.
With every consecutive cascade the multiplier increases (1x, 2x, 3x and 5x) so you win more the more you win. Plus, this video slot has every feature you need to boost your winnings even more including wilds, free spins, scatters and plenty of multipliers.
In terms of bonus games, land 3 free fall (scatter) symbols (the golden shield) on an active line and you’ll trigger 10 free drops (free spins). The question mark symbol is the game’s wild which substitutes for all other symbols to help form winning combinations.
What’s great about this game is that it caters to slot fans with all budgets. For instance, its minimum bet is just 40c a drop (spin) while its maximum bet is $200 a drop.
Expert guide to online casino, CasinoShortList is where we look to pick our favourite out of a variety of best-in-class slots.
Mega Moolah
Mega Moolah is one of the world’s most legendary online slot games and therefore a cult-classic by default. There are two reasons for this. One, it was developed by online casino software pioneer and powerhouse Microgaming, and two, it’s paid out hundreds of millions of dollars in progressive jackpots since it was released way back in 2006.
With its bright and colourful African animal theme, this jackpot slot has captured the imagination of hundreds of thousands of slot fans over the years all over the globe. And even though its graphics are rudimentary by today’s standards, they are still attractive enough to entice new players, as is the game’s 5 reel, 3 row and 25 payline platform.
Game symbols include lions, elephants, buffalos, giraffes, bucks, zebras, monkeys and the witch doctor. They join the 10, Jack, Queen, King and Ace symbols. Naturally, the lion acts as the game’s wild which substitutes for all symbols except the game’s scatter.
The monkeys double as the scatter symbols. Land three or more of them anywhere across your reels and you’ll trigger 15 free spins. In addition, if you land another three monkeys during your free spins bonus game you’ll trigger another 15 free spins.
The star attraction of this game is its jackpot bonus games which is randomly triggered and thus cannot be influenced. It reveals a new screen with a wheel of fortune with slots for the mini, minor, major and progressive jackpot. Spin the wheel and when it stops whichever jackpot the arrow indicates will be all yours down to the last cent.
A highly attractive feature of Mega Moolah is its minimum bet size of 25c a spin and maximum bet size of $6.25 a spin which makes it affordable for most players. However, if you need another incentive to play this exemplary virtual slot machine try this – in March 2019 a lucky online slots player won a $12,945,668 Mega Moolah progressive.
Thousands More Slot Games to Choose From
Although we’ve chosen to highlight only three of what we consider to be the biggest cult-classic online slot machine this side of Vegas, there are thousands more you can play for real money or just for fun.