Joker Bombs

Joker Bombs Overview

Created by the boutique-sized studio Hacksaw Gaming, Joker Bombs is a funfair themed game with an excellent selection of features and some high-quality visuals that make for a pleasing gaming experience. This game has a similar look and feel to the popular mobile game Candy Crush has a few elements that make it slightly different. The playing window is incredibly bright and multi-coloured, giving the whole slot a childish yet uplifting tone. Most of the action revolves around the introduction of various bomb symbols, which modify the gameplay and make for a more lucrative set of spins.

The features here start with the cascade feature, triggered every time a player scores a win. It will remove the winning symbols from the board and replace them with a new set to give players more chances of winning from the same spin. Then there is the bomb feature which introduces a range of bomb icons that can help boost the size of your payout per spin. There is also a fun free spin round, and finally, a bonus buy option. All bonuses will be explained in more detail later on in the review.

Theme and Symbols

The theme for this game is the funfair or if you prefer, the amusement park. Players are taken to a playful theme park where they will find Ferris wheels, roller coasters and kiosks selling cotton candy and doughnuts. Adding to this perfect concoction of simple fun are various coloured balloons and candies on the reels. However, this child-like paradise is disrupted by the introduction of old school long fuse bombs and a spooky joker character who is inferred to be the person behind their creation. Why you would change the tone of such a simple game with a terrorist jester is beyond us, but for whatever reason, it kind of fits and makes for a decent aesthetic.
The background for Joker Bombs is the saccharine funfair where this game is taking place. To the right of the reels, players will be able to see a large blue Ferris wheel in the distance and parts of a curving rollercoaster track. The kiosk tent roofs are at the bottom of the screen, decorated in orange and pink. To the left are two errant balloons acting as a metaphor for the freedom and uplifting joy one should feel when attending a funfair. Everything is in a simple cartoon style that works well with the simple and colourful icons on the board.

The playing board is a fairly standard rectangle with a candy roc border in blue and purple.

The symbols are split into low-value, high-value and special symbols. The low-value symbols are the different shapes of blue, orange, purple, red, and yellow balloons. The most valuable of these is the yellow star-shaped balloon which payout at 15x the stake. On the other hand, the higher-value icons are the hard candies in blue, green, purple, and red. The red one is the most valuable icon in the game, worth 200x the stake. Finally, the specials are the various bomb multiplier icons, and the jack-in-the-box joker scatter.

Game Play

Joker Bombs is played on a 6-reel, 5-row playing board with a scatter win pay mechanic, meaning that there are no specific pay lines. Instead, you just need to land eight or more of the same symbol somewhere on the reel to trigger a win.

The betting range for Joker Bombs is 20p to £100 per spin. To adjust their bet levels, players can toggle their stake up and down using the tool located at the bottom left-hand side of the screen.
Further information, including a short tutorial and a display of the paytable, can be found via the menu button in the right-hand corner of the screen. The spin and auto spin buttons are located in the centre of the screen.
Volatility for this slot is rated in the medium range. The return to player percentage for Joker Bombs is 96.48%, which is above average. The biggest payout that players can win on one spin is 5,000x your stake.

Features

The first feature here which is essential to the pay anywhere mechanic is the cascade feature. This feature comes into play every time that a win is registered. When this happens, all of the winning symbols are removed from the playing window and replaced by a new set of symbols that fall down into their vacated spaces. The mechanic will continue until the new symbols do not form a win.

The next feature is the multiplier bomb feature. A prize is displayed at the top of the screen during any winning spin as the pending win amount. The size of this amount can be changed with the influence of various bombs if they land as part of the spin. Each multiplier value is added up, applied to the pending value, and paid out if there are any bombs. There are three types of bombs. These are explained below:
The Normal Bomb: This bomb, when it lands, comes with a multiplier value, which is added to the win multiplier. These come in sizes of x2, x3 or x4.
The Revealing Bomb- This is the bomb with a question mark on it. When it lands, it reveals one of four different values – x5, x10, x25 or x50, which are added to the win multiplier.
The Epic Bomb- This is the bomb with an x on it. It again reveals a multiplier value; however, unlike the other bombs, this value is not added to the win multiplier but multiplies it.
The next feature is the free spins round, triggered by landing three jack-in-the-box jokers on the same spin anywhere on the board. You will be given ten free spins to play here with all of the multiplier bombs still active. You can also retrigger the bonus by landing an additional three scatters.
Finally, a bonus buy feature also grants instant access to the free spins for 100x your stake.

Conclusion

Bright, colourful, fun and very satisfying, this game has a lot of the same charm and characteristics as candy crush but in a more inventive skin. Features are also novel and exciting. Statistically, things aren’t too bad either, with a respectable RTP, a fairly low volatility rating and a decent hit frequency. The top payout at 5,000x the stake is a touch low, however.