Wheel of Fortune: Ruby Riches

One of the most iconic game shows of all time on both sides of the Atlantic; what better than to take the winning formula and create an online slot? And that's exactly what IGT have done with Wheel of Fortune: Ruby Riches, their latest title. You might not see the similarity at first but just wait until you unlock the bonus rounds. With five jackpots and a max prize of x1000, you could be spinning with delight when you've finished playing this slot.

There’s been a real trend for TV show spin-offs to be created with titles from many different studios. Deal or No Deal: Go All the Way from Blueprint and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire from Big Time Gaming are two other slots that have taken their inspiration from iconic TV shows. But this isn't even the first time for IGT; their existing catalogue includes Wheel of Fortune Megaways, an online slot that features the licensed Megaways mechanism. This slot offers a different gameplay experience from the Megaways but of course, if you're a giant Wheel of Fortune fan, why not play both? 

Unlike its bigger Megaways sibling, Wheel of Fortune: Ruby Riches just has the five reels, which include 30 fixed paylines. The min bet will sting those playing on a budget as it's set at 0.75. In contrast, high rollers will be well suited to a max bet of 150.00. However, the decisions over available stakes are a curious one as the top prize is a fairly lowly x1000, and the game carries medium volatility. This suggests that it's not the type of game that would attract those chasing the big money. 

You won't notice any resemblance to Wheel of Fortune when you start playing, as it's a reasonably simple set of reels with a sumptuous red satin backdrop. If you enjoy the classic style of the game, you can find all the best slots online at PartyCasino where you can play 24/7. When you start playing, you’ll soon begin to feel as if you’re in a game show studio - complete with shouts from the audience egging you on! 

The low pays are the standard card royals, while the premium symbols include an ornate ring, a silver brooch and a beautiful ruby. You’ll receive up to x2.67 for landing five in a row of the premium symbols. 

As an extra helping hand, there’s also a wild on the reels. You can’t miss the symbol for this as it’s simply the word “WILD” in block letters; this can substitute for any of the regular symbols. 

There are several different bonus features on Wheel of Fortune: Ruby Riches, so get ready for a whirl of excitement.  

The first is the Ca$hlink Deluxe which triggers if the treasure chest lands on reel five - but only if there are no scatter symbols on reel one. Once this feature is activated, all of the coin symbols visible on the reels are collected and displayed value added to your prize total. You could also have coins indicating Mini, Minor, Major, Mega or Grand. These correlate to the fixed jackpots payable; you'll need three matching coins to receive a corresponding jackpot payout. 

Back in the main game, if you land the treasure chest on reel five and the Wheel of Fortune coin scatter symbol on reel one, you'll unlock the Wheel of Bonus feature. Before you move onto the wheel, you'll first activate the Ca$hlink Bonus, collecting up the money from any visible coins.  

You’ll then move onto a separate screen where you’ll see a giant wheel. If you land on x5, x10 or x20, your Ca$hlink Bonus payout will be multiplied before it’s awarded to you. There are other prizes to be won on the wheel, including the maximum jackpot award of x1000. 

Once you've collected your prizes from the wheel, you'll return to the main game, but there are more features to play. If you land scatter symbols on reels one, three and five, you'll receive ten free spins. While this bonus plays out, it's possible to retrigger the feature, something that happens pretty frequently. With a maximum of 200 free spins to be won, you can also retrigger any of the other features here, which IGT say have a greater incidence rate than in the main game. 

There's no denying that Wheel of Fortune: Ruby Riches from IGT is a tremendous amount of fun, with many innovative features that players will enjoy. The only problem is that the payouts are relatively modest while the betting is a little high, making it sit awkwardly in the middle rather than appealing to one set of players or the other.