Themed Slots

Amongst the plethora of slots you'll find to explore at any decent land-based or online casino are likely to be a whole raft of themed slots. For the uninitiated a basic themed slot machine is one that has enjoyed a graphic makeover to add a theme derived from some element of popular culture – a twist on the traditional lemons, bell, and bars of an old-skool slot game.

Themed slots seem to cover all sorts of interests from pop celebrities, historical characters, fantasy legends, movies, board games and comic book heroes. The most basic themed slot will play exactly the same as pretty much any other standard Vegas-style casino slot, you'll just find the symbols and fascia graphics have been jazzed-up with a specific theme in mind. For instance the Cleopatra themed slot, which is a classic IGT machine that's been in real-world casinos since the 70s and very popular in a virtual incarnation with online casinos today, has the Sphinx, scarabs and Cleopatra herself appearing as important symbols on its paytable, and will waft pseudo-Egyptian music at you as you seek to 'unlock the mysteries of its reels'...

Sometimes the marketing spiel for themed slots can be a bit florid (let's be honest, the graphics may be different but the games play the same way in many cases), but there's no denying that these slots are very popular with players, and it is nice to have a choice of the sound and graphics you experience while you're spinning for some winnings. Fifty million Elvis fans can't be wrong if they fancy rockin' the popular Elvis themed slots that serenade you with songs from the great man himself!

The more interesting themed slots you'll find, especially at the best licenced online casinos, are ones that weave their theme into some distinctive bonus games that enhance the basic gameplay of slot machines. Good examples of this are the themed slots based upon popular board games like Cluedo and Monopoly. These feature bonus games that bring into play a bonus trail drawing in distinctive elements of the traditional board game (see Best Slots review of the Monopoly with Pass Go Bonus slot for a good example of this) that adds a lot more fun for players.

You could argue that many themed slot machines give an illusion of variety, particularly at some online casinos that boast hundred of slots which look different but play exactly the same way, but it is nice to have choice about the look and feel of the console you play and we're sure that you'll find certain themed slots will have instant appeal for you and your tastes, or fit your mood for a particular moment.