You may be surprised to learn that slots and themes have pretty much been a thing since their inception. When Charles Fey made the first ever commercially available slot machines at the end of the 1900s, he chose specific symbols for his three reels.
The Liberty Bell, as his slot was called, featured horseshoes, stars, diamonds, hearts, spades, and the Liberty Bell. The latter, a shameless logo, was joined by symbols we associate with playing cards and good luck.
In this respect, the theme was the Liberty Bell with associations pertaining to gaming, but it was short-lived after Fey’s machine was outlawed. To sidestep legal restrictions the machine was redesigned to, theoretically, dispense gum, so new symbols were established.
Out went the subtle nods to gaming, and in came the fruit to represent the different flavours of gum -the bar, incidentally, symbolized the pack of gum. Indeed, such was the association of fruit with slot machines, they became known as ‘fruities’ and in some places, still are.
So, we can already see that themes were an almost inseparable part of the slot game experience. And this association with pieces of fruit, bars, lucky sevens etc. has only been compromised relatively recently.
In fact, it wasn’t until the invention of video slots in the mid-70s that the slot theme properly shifted from those associated with fruities. Now popular TV shows or movies became the driving theme, but the fruit never actually went away.
Even online fruit is still a popular choice, and while there are, of course, other themes to tantalise the player, there’s comparatively little. Games that deal with Ancient Egypt or Mythology are ubiquitous with a bunch of safari or seafaring-based themes bringing up the rear.
With slots, it’s all about the game of slots! For example, you don’t have to be into fishing to enjoy games like fishin frenzy.
Sure, they will be those who are attracted to a game -or a series of games- based on the theme. But this attraction will be short-lived if the gameplay is clunky or the player isn’t seeing the results they expected.
What really counts is the technology behind the game. These days Artificial Intelligence (AI) plays an important, yet largely discreet role, in keeping the slot action hot.
For this reason, you might be wise to choose the best game and simply enjoy the theme playing out while you focus on the action. It’s also a good idea to focus on some other areas too, so let’s take a quick look at what you should be looking out for, over and above the theme!
Research
Once you’ve found a game that tickles your fancy, don’t just check out the reviews for the game, check out the online casino!
This is easy to do via a rudimentary search of the internet, make sure it’s got a license number and the reviews from users are tip-top. Then you can check out the game by, first, hitting up YouTube and seeing it in action, then trying before buying on the website.
But before any of this, ensure the website you’re using for your game has an SSL (secure sockets layer) or you could be inviting in some unwanted guests. The SSL is represented by the little padlock to the left of the website address at the top of the (this) page.
RTP
That’s the Return to Player and every slot has one, but what it is? Basically, the RTP will be a number, hopefully in the high 90s with a ‘%’ symbol next to it.
The higher the RTP the better, because it denotes your chance, out of 100, of winning any money back. Please note that the RTP is calculated over an undisclosed period of playing time, meaning that it might not kick in until you’ve been playing for a few hours.
Payment
Quick one on the question of safety. Your game might have pictures featuring a bunch of tantalising mystic symbols, but can you pay for it with your digital wallet?
Digital wallets (like PayPal) are payment methods that act like an agent between you and the casino. So should the casino in question turn out to be a naughty fraudster, it’s up to PayPal to sort it out at no cost to you.
In fact, you can go one step better by using a crypto wallet to pay for your game for a bunch of reasons you’re free to check out yourself. Just don’t use a bank transfer.
Summary
In short, when it comes to finding the best themed online slots, it’ll have nothing to do with the theme. The best online slots are the ones that payout, and just happen to have a theme!
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