Microgaming Slots

Microgaming is one of the big names in the online gambling
industry. The company’s full name is Microgaming Software
Systems, Ltd. They operate from a headquarters in the Isle of
Man.

Microgaming is arguably responsible for the world’s first
online casino, GamingClub, which officially launched in 1994.
Now in their third decade of operation, Microgaming is one of
the world’s top gaming software developers. The company is now
active in all forms of online casino software, including slots,
table games, live games, and multi-player applications.
Microgaming was a pioneer in the emerging mobile gaming market.
They operate a popular poker network, maintain dozens of online
bingo sites, and are now launching games for the land-based
market.

The company maintains a library of 800 casino games, as well
as another 400 variants, for a grand total of 1,200 titles.
Microgaming’s slots and other games include both licensed and
fully-proprietary content. The company is famous for releasing
new variants and slot titles on a weekly basis.

The History of Microgaming

Microgaming launched the GamingClub online casino in late
1994. At this time, the company operated the casino themselves,
not totally sure what sort of product they had on their hands.
It must have been a confusing time – imagine wondering if there
was an audience for Internet-based betting? It didn’t take long
for Microgaming’s founders to decide that they weren’t
interested in the operation side of the casino business.

Instead, they chose to focus on the development of casino
games, earning money by selling licenses for their games to
other online casinos. By the year 1996, Microgaming had two
licensees operating online casinos, accepting wagers from
players all over the world. 1996 was a big year for the company,
as they increased their license holdings tenfold in the course
of ten months. Within a year, Microgaming had earned the
reputation as a leading provider of casino software for online
gambling businesses – a reputation they hold to this day.

The Early Days of Microgaming

All that early success was the driving force behind
Microgaming’s decision to join with other names in the
burgeoning industry to create the Interactive Gaming Council in
1997. The IGC, which still exists today, was created to ensure
customers that gambling websites were behaving fairly and
responsibly. The idea is simple – if your site is a member of
the IGC, your customers can engage with you with confidence,
since membership in the IGC is a sign of fairness.

Hot on the heels of their successful IGC initiative, and a
fury of new license sales, the company launched the world’s
first online progressive slot game in 1998. Called Cash Splash,
the progressive game is still part of their library, though in a
more modernized version with a new pay table and a few new
features. This game operated with a networked progressive
jackpot, just like progressive slots which were fast becoming
the most popular such games in Vegas. That same year,
Microgaming was the first online casino game designer to offer
instant-play games as well as a download package. These two
innovations alone have had an indelible impact on the gambling
business.

The online gambling phenomenon didn’t get going well until
the year 2000 – within a year of the new millennium, Microgaming
had become a major player in international markets, as well as
ones in Europe and America. They were the first online casino
software provider to offer multi-language support. This
increased their market share dramatically.

The last major shakeup of the company’s software came in
2003, when the Viper version of their software was released.
This software added a number of new features that are now common
to online casino gambling, such as Windows-style tile display,
live dealer functionality, and a few backend features that made
the games run faster with less chance of glitch or lag. In the
same year, Microgaming launched the first version of their
top-ten poker network, now known as MPN.

Recent Microgaming Innovations

One of the ways the company has stayed relevant over the past
twenty years or so is their ability to quickly produce new
games. You’ll notice when you read back over the company’s
history that they constantly took risks, and those risks have
pretty much always paid off. Yes, Microgaming is a popular
provider of slot games, but they managed to innovate in other
areas as well. For example, the whole live dealer concept
wouldn’t exist without Microgaming – and that has nothing at all
to do with slot machines.

Recent innovations include the release (in 2011) of a new
suite of mobile casino software, making the games more
attractive and presenting them in a number of interesting
variations. That same year, the company produced the world’s
first 3D Web-based slot machine game.

The company has won numerous awards, from diverse industry
watchdogs like Casinomeister and Casino Player Magazine. They’ve
matched two decades of innovation with even more innovation.
They continue to sell licensing deals, create exciting
proprietary content, and please their customer base with regular
new game releases. Yes, they face a stiff increase in the amount
of competition coming from new designers and difficult markets,
but they’ve always managed to keep pace in an industry that
doesn’t take kindly to failure. Maybe the management team’s
commitment to fitness and athletics is responsible for this
“can’t-lose” spirit.

Casinos Using Microgaming Software

Microgaming software power some of the most popular names in
online casino and poker play – 270 casinos run on a Microgaming
platform, as well as 40 poker rooms and skins. Here are some of
the better-known names that use Microgaming’s suite of casino
software.

• 32 Red
• Unibet
• Betsson
• All Slots Casino
• The Palace Group
• MPN
• BetVictor

Microgaming Management

Roger Raatgever, CEO

Roger Raatgever earn his accountant’s charter in his native
South Africa after studying a double emphasis in marketing and
economics. Raatgever was key in Microgaming’s plan to establish
headquarters on the Isle of Man, which he accomplished in the
year 2001. At the time, he was a senior analyst for Microgaming
in franchising and banking. Soon after the successful relocation
to the Isle of Man, he took over the helm of the company.
Raatgever has the honor of being the longest-serving CEO in the
online gambling business. He’s also an accomplished athlete, a
semi-pro caliber water polo, squash and rugby player. Roger
recently competed in the triathlon, taking home a bronze medal
for the Isle of Man at the 2013 Island Games. His passion for
fitness is reflected by the entire management staff surrounding
him.

John Coleman

John Coleman joined the Microgaming team in 2004, having
worked for years as a chartered accountant. Coleman’s duties
include the general operation of Microgaming itself. Like his
boss, Coleman is a passionate athlete, competing in cycling
races and twice finishing the New York Marathon. From quotes in
press releases and on the corporate website, it’s clear that
Coleman is Raatgever’s right-hand man and closest advisor,
besides being responsible for the general operation of the
company.

Chris Hobbs

Chis Hobbs’ backgrounds are in both banking and chemistry.
It’s an odd combination, but one that seems to work for
Microgaming – he’s been on the job since 2005. He got into
management after taking a job with a chemical manufacturer in
South Africa. He was hired as a low-level accounts manager in
2000, working his way up to management in 2005. Hobbs’ main duty
is to ensure total compliance with all jurisdictional laws – a
complex job in the world of online gambling. Hobbs is also a
representative member on the boards of industry groups, speaking
up for Microgaming’s interests and the interests of its
customers.

Andrew Clucas

Andrew Clucas served in the Royal Air Force for two decades
before accepting a position at Microgaming in 2009. Clucas was
awarded an MBE in 2005, having earned his final promotion to
wing commander the same year. Clucas has been a chartered
accountant since 2006, working his way up the ranks at
Microgaming as a manager and eventual department head. These
days, he manages every aspect of the sales and marketing
departments of the company.

Neill Whyte

Head of Product Channels Another long-term
member of the executive staff, Neill Whyte joined the team in
2006. His backgrounds are in business, economics, management,
telecommunications, and software development – a perfect skill
set to assist a growing online game design company. Whyte was
promoted to his most recent position for his work in
Microgaming’s mobile development, where he created several
innovative systems still in use today. Another of Microgaming’s
many top-notch athletes, Whyte has competed in three Ironman
event, and finished the Marathon des Sables.

Microgaming Slot Games

Microgaming has 344 slot games in their library. About
three-quarters of their slot collection is made up of video slot
games, in different line arrangements, between five and
ninety-nine. The rest are either progressives or classic-style
slots with either one, three, or five pay lines.

Below, you’ll find short reviews of twenty-four of
Microgaming’s most-popular slots. We wanted to show off the
company’s entire range of games, so we’ve reviewed titles from
each of the company’s five slot categories.

1-Line Slots

Bar Bar Black Sheep

Bar Bar Black Sheep is a real throwback, styled after the
classic single line games of yesterday. This game has three
reels of symbols, most of which are traditional slot symbols.
You can wager one, two, or three coins on each spin, with
credits worth $0.25, $0.50, $1, or $5. This game includes a
feature that isn’t common to classic one-line games – a wild
multiplier symbol. The game’s logo (the Black Sheep himself)
substitutes for all other symbols to form winning combos.
Spinning one or two Black Sheep symbols also triples the payout
of any combination it completes, except the Bar-Bar-Black Sheep
combination that leads to the game’s highest payout.

Cops and Robbers

Cops and Robbers is technically an AWP-style game. AWP stands
for Amusement with Prize. That means it’s designed in the style
of classic UK-style gaming machines found in pubs and
restaurants. It’s a simple-looking game with a single pay line,
accepting wagers of one, two, or three credits. But this game
includes a special nudge/hold feature and a bonus round. The
bonus round is triggered by spinning three Money Bag symbols –
during the game, you attempt to escape the cops by spinning
winning combos, which earn random multipliers. Cops and Robbers
offers credits in the classic Microgaming range – $0.25, $0.50,
$1, $2, and $5, for a total betting range of $0.25 up to $15 per
spin.

Jet Set

Jet Set represents another attempt on the part of Microgaming
to produce a classic-style one-pay line slot game with improved
replay value. The game itself is really simple – the only symbol
used outside of the traditional fruit, numbers, and bars is the
game’s Jet Set logo itself, a beautiful yacht emblazoned with
three Lucky 7’s. This symbol acts as a wild, multiplier, and
bonus trigger symbol. A single Jet Set symbol on the line will
act as any symbol to complete a win, and multiply the win by 2x.
Two such symbols pays out a 4x reward. Spinning all three
symbols in a row triggers a bonus game that awards both free
credits and free spins.

Jungle 7’s

The 15,000 coin top jackpot on Jungle 7’s have made this
single-line classic game one of Microgaming’s top titles. The
credit and wagering options are identical to the company’s other
classic slots – wagers of between one and three credits are
allowed, and those credits can be worth $0.25, $0.50, $1, $2, or
$5 each for a total betting range of between $0.25 and $15 per
spin. That huge top prize pays out when three special Aztec
Wheel symbols appear on the line. But spinning one or two of
these symbols is also good – one symbol triggers a 2x
multipliers, while two symbols triggers a 4x multiplier. Jungle
7’s has a vague jungle theme, though you don’t have to pay much
attention to the game, as there’s not any sort of plot. It
remains popular mainly because (ostensibly) you have a shot at
winning almost $4,000 on a wager of less than a dollar.

SWAT Team

SWAT Team represents another attempt on the part of
Microgaming to produce a classic-style one-pay line slot game
with improved replay value. The game itself is really simple –
the only symbol used outside of the traditional fruit, numbers,
and bars is the game’s SWAT Team logo itself, a beautiful yacht
emblazoned with three Lucky 7’s. This symbol acts as a wild,
multiplier, and bonus trigger symbol. A single SWAT Team symbol
on the line will act as any symbol to complete a win, and
multiply the win by 2x. Two such symbols pays out a 4x reward.
Spinning all three symbols in a row triggers a bonus game that
awards both free credits and free spins.

Free Spirit

The theme of Free Spirit is the beautiful wild horse. The
game is among Microgaming’s most stripped-down classic slots,
though newer versions include a special Wheel of Wealth bonus
game that turns Free Spirit into something with a bit more
replay value. The game’s top prize is 5,000 credits, paid in
exchange for spinning three of the game’s Free Spirit logo
symbols. No multiplier or scatter symbol exists, though the
newer versions with Wheel of Wealth include a kind of multiplier
bonus round. This bonus round rewards free credits and free
spins randomly.

3-Line Slots

Fruit Fiesta

Fruit Fiesta is a classic fruit machine style game, a simple
game with five reels and three pay lines. It was a classic from
the earliest days of its development, and has spawned a couple
of variants, a video slot and a larger game with a progressive
top prize. This three pay line version includes a bonus round
that rewards free spins, randomly, between one and five. The
bonus game is triggered by a special symbol, the game’s second
most-valuable. The graphics are like a modern update to
old-school slot designs, featuring fruit symbols and other
classic slot images. Fruit Fiesta’s top prize is 3,000 coins,
for a payout between $750 and $15,000.

Jewel Thief

The simple three reel and three pay line arrangement of Jewel
Thief pays homage to classic game design while adding extra pay
lines to increase complexity and the range of available payouts.
This game accepts bets of up to five credits on each of three
lines, for a max bet of fifteen coins per spin. Jewel Thief,
like most of Microgaming’s three line games, can adapt to a
number of different bankrolls. Coins can be worth $0.25, $0.50,
$1, $2, or $5 apiece. That makes max bets available between
$1.25 and $75.

Spooky Mansion

Spooky Mansion’s theme is the classic haunted house, complete
with symbols of ghosts, goblins, and things that go bump in the
night. This five reel and three pay line game accepts max bets
of five credits per line in the classic Microgaming $0.25 – $5
arrangement. It’s a typical three line game in Microgaming’s
library, designed to be attractive to players with a variety of
bankroll sizes. This game includes a wild/multiplier symbol, the
Spooky Mansion logo, which multiplies all wins (except the top
prize) by either 2x or 4x, depending on how many you spin.

MegaSpin Progressive

Single-pay line progressive slots are not common. MegaSpin is
just such a game, an early progressive from Microgaming that’s
still available at some casinos that run their software. The
game includes a wild symbol – a multi-colored star that
substitutes for all other symbols to form winning combos. This
game is a bit different from other three line titles from
Microgaming, in that the progressive wins are triggered by
symbols on a wheel of symbols that operates separately from the
main set of symbols. It’s a bit complex, but after you watch a
spin or two you’ll understand. You’ll spend the exact same
amount on this game as on any of Microgaming’s three line games
– the credits range from $0.25 to $5, and you have to bet three
credits per spin to be eligible for the top prize, a total of
$15 per spin.

Sizzling Scorpions

Slots don’t get much more basic than Sizzling Scorpions. This
is a game without any video scenes or animations, and not much
in the way of sound effects. Thus, no plot, no “story” to tell.
The game has three pay lines, three reels, and accepts wagers of
one, two, or three credits per line at a fixed price of $0.50
each. That makes a total wagering range of between $0.50 and
$4.50 per spin. Curiously, Sizzling Scorpions includes a simple
bonus symbol. When you spin three of the game’s logo symbol on
any active line, you earn a random number of free spins.
Sizzling Scorpions is on the simple side, but plenty of slot
gamblers like classic titles, and that’s exactly what you get
here.

Spell Bound

Spell Bound is a three reel slot with three pay lines. It’s
stuffed with features – especially compared to the other
sometimes feature-less three line slots produced by Microgaming.
Spell Bound includes a wild, a multiplier, and a bonus round.
The theme (if you can call it that) revolves around what the
rest of the Internet calls a “red-haired Enchantress,” but I’d
just call her a beautiful witch. If you spin three of her
symbols on an active line, you win the game’s top prize of 6,000
credits. Since Spell Bound operates on the typical $0.50-$5
arrangement of Microgaming’s classic slots, that’s a top prize
worth up to $30,000.

5-Line Slots

Break Da Bank

Break Da Bank is one of Microgaming’s better-known titles, in
part because it’s been part of their lineup for so long. This is
a five pay line game with three reels, a rarity in the world of
online game design. Players can wager up to ten credits per
line, for a max wager of fifty credits. Since the game only
accepts wagers of $0.05, $0.10, or $0.25 per credit, a max bet
can be had for between $2.50 and $12.50 per spin.

Captain Cash

Captain Cash is one of Microgaming’s high-end five pay line
games, with a costly max bet that rules out all but the fattest
online bankrolls. Players can wager up to five credits per line,
for a twenty-five credit maximum bet. Since credits can be worth
between $0.50 and $5 per credit, the total maximum bet range is
between $12.50 and $125 per spin. That said, it is also a simple
game, with three reels and five pay lines, so players should
expect even more low-level payouts than they may usually find on
a high roller online slot game. There’s not much in the way of a
theme – just a chase for big jackpots.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year is something of an antique. This game was part
of Microgaming’s earliest licensed libraries in the late 1990s.
Though the version you find now has been updated a few times,
it’s still pretty much the same game. For some reason, people
have always been attracted to slots based on holidays. It’s a
theme you’ll find on the gambling floor and at online casinos.
This particular slot has nothing to do with the New Year except
its name and the use of a couple of party hat symbols. The
game’s logo is a wild multiplier which rewards a 2x or 4x win on
an active line. Happy New Year has three reels, five pay lines,
and accepts bets of up to five coins per line. Those coins can
be worth between $0.50 and $5, so that max wagers range from
$12.50 and $125 per spin.

Spin Magic

Spin Magic is a typical Microgaming five pay line title. Spin
Magic is designed in imitation of classic UK fruit machines. The
symbols in the game include the standard cherries, grapes, and
lemons, but the game is topped by a special spinning wheel that
alters game play and pay outs. Spin Magic has its own
spinning-wheel bonus game, which rewards a multiplier between 2x
and 5x. The spinning game is triggered by landing three of the
logo symbols on an active line. Unlike most other Microgaming
five pay line titles, credit size is limited to either $0.05,
$0.10, $0.25, or $0.50. The max wager is two coins per line, or
ten total coins. That means max wagers range from $0.50 to $5,
making it an ideal game for low bankroll players looking to step
up their game and take a bigger risk. After all, the jackpot is
8,000 coins, which could be worth $4,000 on a wager of just $5.

Cool Buck

Cool Buck is a disappointing five line slot release by
Microgaming, and a good example of what the company does wrong.
Cool Buck is pretty much identical to every other bland five
line release, with a different image on the front. The top prize
is 6,000 credits, the same top prize as the vast majority of the
company’s classic slot games. The machine accepts coin sizes
between $0.50 and $5. Players can wager up to five coins on each
of five lines – these are all features common to just about any
Microgaming title you can think of. What’s worse, Cool Buck has
no gimmick of its own. I could think of no reason to play Cool
Buck instead of any other game on this list, except for maybe a
general preference for the color green. When Microgaming
releases skins of existing titles, they just look lazy. Cool
Buck is a lazily-designed slot game.

Flying Ace

Flying Ace is a decent little game, a five pay line video
slot that puts you in the cockpit of a world-class fighter
plane. Don’t let the simple three reel arrangement fool you,
this is a fun little game, with a wild multiplier symbol, a cut
screen bonus game, and fun sound effects and animations to keep
you in the game. Microgaming crammed as much red, white, and
blue as they could into this game, and for good reason.
Americans like playing patriotic games. It’s a fun five line
slot, though it doesn’t do much in terms of varying the
traditional pay line setup, down to the 6,000 credit top
jackpot.

Progressive Slots

Cash Splash

Cash Splash is an historic slot game – the first-ever
networked progressive game designed exclusively for play online.
Originally released in 1998, the game has had two major
facelifts over the past couple of decades, and is still as
exciting a modern progressive slot as any the company produces.
This is a five reel game with fifteen pay lines. The credit size
is fixed at $0.20, and the progressive jackpot is only available
on max bet spins, so you have to wager $3 per spin for a shot at
the ever-increasing top prize. The top prize refreshes at just
$5,000, which is low compared to other modern progressives. The
largest-ever win was about $105,000, though the average jackpot
is around $26,000.

King Cashalot

King Cashalot is a more recent Microgaming release in the
progressive category. Its top prize is considerably larger than
on the classic Cash Splash – the average winner claims $550,000.
The largest-ever prize was good for a jackpot of just over $1.5
million. This is a five-reel game with nine available pay lines.
To be eligible for the top prize, you have to wager five credits
on all nine lines, at a fixed price of $0.05 per credit. That
means for $2.25 per spin, you can take a crack at a progressive
jackpot that tends to pay out six figures at a time. Not only is
King Cashalot more lucrative than Microgaming’s classic Cash
Splash, it’s less expensive.

Mega Moolah Series

The Mega Moolah Series is not one game but a series of four
games, all of which have the Mega Moolah progressive prize
system as one of their features. All four of the games are great
– but what we like is the Mega Moolah series itself. It’s
definitely Microgaming’s flagship progressive game, and some
would consider it the company’s flagship slot. The four-tiered
progressive prize system is based on total random chance – you
never know when you’ll suddenly win one of four ever-larger
progressive jackpots. Mega Moolah was responsible for the
largest-ever Microgaming jackpot, a prize equivalent to $18.6
million won by a British man playing at Betway Casino. This
game’s average win is around $4.5 million, and it pays out
around every three months.

Treasure Nile

Yet another five reel progressive slot with nine pay lines by
Microgaming. We love the jackpot and overall game variety
available in this category, but would it kill them to create
some progressives with different line and reel arrangements?
Treasure Nile seems to pay off every two weeks like clockwork,
though it’s not one of Microgaming’s more lucrative progressive
prizes. The average win is $90,000, with an historic high of
$360,000. When you play Treasure Nile (which features symbols of
mummies, scarabs, and other trappings of ancient Egypt), you’re
only eligible for the progressive grand prize if you wager five
credits on all nine lines, for a total of 45 per spin. At a
fixed value of $0.50 per credit, Treasure Nile is one of the
more costly Microgaming progressive slots. You have to bet
$22.50 per spin to be eligible for the progressive payout.

Major Millions

This military-themed progressive slot is one of the
better-looking and more functional of Microgaming’s new titles.
In the video slot version, you play as a new recruit, avoiding
the unfriendly gaze of a training officer. Major Millions pays
out big prizes – the average win is north of $500,000. The
largest-ever payday won on this game was $1.8 million, claimed
in 2012 at All Slots. Major Millions pays an average of five top
prizes per year.

Fruit Fiesta

Fruit Fiesta is one of Microgaming’s low-level progressive
games. It has the least valuable top prize of any game on this
short list. That’s not to say that any of us would turn our
noses at the average prize of $23,160. Besides, in 2013, a
British player won $101,000 on Fruit Fiesta. That’s really
nothing to sneeze at. We also like the game’s payout regularity
– it looks like a jackpot is paid out every fifteen or sixteen
days, going back four or five years. Fruit Fiesta is a pretty
simple game, in which you have to spin five special symbols
while wagering five credits on all fifteen lines. Since the
credit price is fixed at $0.05, players must wager $3.25 per
spin to chase that progressive jackpot.

Microgaming Slots: A Summary

We’ve reviewed dozens of online slot software providers. We
like Microgaming, for a few reasons. When you do business with a
company that’s been in an industry since its outset, you’re
guaranteed a certain level of customer service. We like the
not-so-serious tone of their game designs, even if sometimes
they venture a bit too far into “cartoon-y” territory. We like
their website, which offers lots of useful information for
writers and researchers trying to get a handle on their company.
We just like them, all around.

Microgaming is a conscientious operator, having been obsessed
with security, encryption, and the safety of their customer’s
data since the earliest days of online gambling. All Microgaming
licensees are required to maintain the same kind of high-level
security standards that the company itself operates under. This
is one of the reasons why we love this company – not only have
they been offering online gambling longer than anyone else,
they’ve been doing it with an eye to security.

Another major appealing feature of Microgaming casino
software is its variety. A library of 1,200 titles available at
hundreds of casino and poker room websites means you won’t have
to settle for a limited collection of boring repetitive titles.
Okay, so a few hundred of those titles are just variations on
other games. Still, Microgaming’s commitment to releasing new
titles every week means people who play at the casinos that run
their games have access to a lot more game titles than customers
at other properties.

Microgaming is more than just one of the world’s major
players in online game design. They’re also a player in the
mobile market, a name in online poker, providers of bingo and
skill games, and now the designer of titles that appear in
land-based casinos as well. This company of some 2,000 employees
is working hard to maintain their industry dominance by
producing new innovations as well as games that satisfy the
tastes of classic slot fans. Microgaming’s twenty-plus years of
success will probably be matched by another two decades of
profitable experimentation.