Multi Fruits Slot Machine
Multi Fruits is a classic fruit machine style game that’s been updated for the 21st century with a unique bonus wheel feature. Played out on 5 reels and with a choice of 5 or 10 paylines, it’s filled with traditional symbols such as cherries, watermelons and oranges, plus the red 7 that keeps with tradition by being the highest-paying icon. A star is the scatter symbol and basic graphics, with even the game title looking like it’s straight from the 1970’s, complete the retro style.
The Multi Fruits video slot is part of the huge Merkur casino games range, and this German outfit has decades of experience in delivering fair, reliable slots to land-based, online and mobile sites alike. While they are quite capable of developing state of the art games, they still like to release old-style slots which remain popular with players looking for a straightforward gaming experience with the potential to land consistent wins.
A dark green background sets off the plain black reels and their simple surrounds, although for some reason the paytable is decorated with leaves, dripping with rainwater. We’re not sure why, but it looks nice, so we won’t question it. Colourful payline indicators show you where each of the lines starts and ends, while the symbols are presented in a subtle 3D effect, with little reflections of light lifting them above the rock-bottom basic images that they would otherwise have been. If it sounds like we are being critical, we’re not, as this is exactly to sort of style that punters are expecting and Merkur have simply delivered a game to suit a particular market.
Getting Fruity
Even the order of value sticks with tradition, where the lowest paying symbol is the cherries. Like all symbols, apart from the scatter, they need to be seen across a payline, in a continuous run, starting from the left side, although unlike others, you will only need to see them on reels 1 and 2 to win something, even if it’s just 5x the line stake. Landing 3, 4, or 5 cherries will be worth prizes of 20x, 50x, or 200x the line bet, and then going up in value, there’s further fruity symbols such as the lemons, plums and oranges that are each worth up to 200x, and a high-paying watermelon that pays out 50x, 250x, or 2,000x the line bet when it’s seen on 3, 4, or 5 reels.
Added to these symbols is a green diamond, which doesn’t seem to fit in. Maybe it’s a mutated apple or something, but it’s worth 5x, 20x, or 100x the line bet. Top of the pile is a big red 7, and when this traditional image is seen on 3 reels across a line, the reward is equal to 100x the line stake, 4 across the reels will be worth 500x and a massive 5,000x is yours to collect when it fills a payline.
A 5-pointed star is the scatter icon, so it won’t need to land in any particular positions and can be literally scattered across the reels. If 3 appear, the prize is 20x the line stake, 4 stars equals a win of 100x and any 5 or more pays out 1,000x.
Retro-Style Rewins
Anytime reels 1, 2 and 3 are completely filled with the same symbol, once any prizes have been awarded, the Rewin bonus feature is triggered, which plays out on a wheel with 7 green segments on it and a single red section. Each section lights up in turn and when the light stops moving around the wheel, you get paid the same amount as you won when the 3 reels were filled with the same symbol, unless it stops on the red section which ends the round.
But assuming you get lucky and land on a green segment, the section hit becomes another red and the light flashes around again, now with 6 greens and 2 reds to land on. This goes on, with any greens turning to extra reds, potentially for 7 rounds, each time returning the same prize. It’s a fun feature that can bring in some nice returns, unless of course, you hit the red first time out.
Gamble Options
Any win can be gambled in a couple of different ways. Click the playing card button and you will be given the choice of red or black cards. If the one you choose matches the card drawn, the triggering win is doubled in value and you can either collect the prize, collect half of it, or gamble it all again to double the win over and over.
The other option is to go for the Risk Ladder gamble feature, which moves you up or down a ladder with each click. Move down too far though and the gamble is lost, while a wrong card colour pick also loses the gamble feature along with the initial win, so tread carefully.
Betting Options
There’s an unusual choice to play with 5 or 10 lines, but apart from this the betting options are pretty standard. You can stake as little as 0.01 on each line or raise your stakes to a high limit of 4.00 per line, giving a maximum total bet of 40.00. Free Multi Fruits video slots are also provided, although there’s no real cash winnings, so unless you’re happy watching reels spin for no rewards, it’s best to place bets and start collecting prizes.
Like all Merkur slot machines, Multi Fruits has been fully certified for fair play by independent testing companies, and the overall return to player percentage is very high, in this case 96.11% over the long term.
Other control buttons include the Auto function that gets the reels spinning up to 100 times without needing to click for each turn, and the simple soundtrack can be turned on or off.
Other Fruit Machines
There’s a virtually endless list of fruit themed online slot games, many of which come from Merkur, who seem to specialise in these games. The Blazing Star video slot from Merkur shares a lot of design features with Multi Fruits, although does without the bonus wheel, making this an even more basic game. A higher maximum bet of 100.00 per spin and the chance to collect wins over just 5 paylines will appeal to punters who want to simply relax and watch the prizes come in.
Another company that’s famed for their fruit machines is Austrian-based Novomatic, and a classic example of the range is Golden Sevens, which fills the 5 reels with simple fruit icons and awards massive prizes when the 7 symbol makes an appearance. Even these coin wins are dwarfed by the chance to win a progressive jackpot that’s claimed when all 15 reel positions are filled with the 7.
A Rewarding Fruit Blend?
While basic gameplay is to be expected, what lifts the Multi Fruits video slot above many similar games is that Rewin wheel that works in a clever way to hopefully keep paying you again and again. You might be unlucky and hit red straight away, but on the other hand, you could be on a winning streak and get your last win paid out 7 more times in this enjoyable, if somewhat plain-looking mobile optimised video slot.
