Derby Wheel

Derby Wheel Overview

Ever wanted to combine the adrenaline-pumping fun of horse racing with the colourful excitement of slot gaming in one convenient onscreen experience? Well, have the Play ‘n GO studio got something for you. This new game created by the established studio takes players to the National Derby via a three-by-three slot machine. There is plenty to enjoy in this new product and players will be encouraged to learn that for once the RTP is over the industry standard of 96%, promising a decent return on your investment (unlike some of the horses you might bet on at the races). Derby Wheel is available across platforms, including mobile, tablet and desktop.

There are two bonus features available in this game, both of which are triggered by landing three scatter symbols on the reels at the same time, triggering the bonus wheel to appear. This wheel is split into two segments -Horse Racing and Big Wheel. Where the wheel lands will determine the bonus granted to you. The first bonus – horse racing, gives you four-horse options each with a different level of risk involved for larger or smaller prizes. The big wheel option on the other hand gives you one spin on a big wheel with a range of multipliers. The multiplier you land on will be applied to your win. All features will be explained in more detail later in the review.

Theme and Symbols

The theme for this game is of course horse racing. Horse racing as we recognise it today began in the 18th century. The first modern horse race in England took place in 1776 and was named the St.Leger race. The term Derby interestingly stems from the Derby Stakes Run at Epsom Downs Racecourse. Horse racing has come a long way since then and remains incredibly popular as evidenced by the crowds of people at every year’s Ascot and the fact that we now virtualise the experience so people can even enjoy it at home. Play ‘n GO has capitalized on this popularity to entice players to engage in this game.

The background for this game is crowds of people sitting on benches emulating a horse racing crowd before a big race. However, as this game also has a kind of game show aesthetic some spotlights and screens give the image a level of studio glamour. This image changes when you go into the features, with the horse racing feature showing you silhouettes of horses racing each other with a crowd under a gazebo behind cheering them on. It's quite the modernised version of horse racing.
The playing board is a simple three-by-three curved reel set like you might see in a real casino.
The symbols for this game are split into low-paying, high-paying and special symbols. The low-paying symbols are the lemons, plums and cherries. The cherries are the most valuable worth 2.4x the stake for the top combination. The higher value symbols are the BAR and lucky sevens symbols. The lucky sevens are the most valuable symbols in the game worth 5 the stake for the top combination. The only special in this game is the big wheel scatter that can appear on all reels.

Game Play

Derby Wheel is played on a 3-reel, 3-row machine with 5 fixed pay lines. To win combinations, players must land three matching symbols on pay lines moving from left to right, starting from the leftmost reel.

The betting range for Derby Wheel is 5p 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 high range. The return to player percentage for Derby Wheel is 96.2%, which is above average. The biggest payout that players can win on one spin is 2,240x your stake.

Features

This game comes with two special bonus rounds, each triggered in the same fashion. Both bonuses can be activated by landing three scatter symbols on the reels at the same time. This will make a fortune wheel appear on the screen. This wheel is split into two sections, the horse racing wheel and the big wheel. A spin of this wheel will determine the bonus you will play.
The first bonus is the horse racing feature. Presented at this point are four horses on a starting grid, each of them represents a different level of risk and reward. These are explained below:
No Bet (guaranteed payout): Pick no horse and win up to 50x the bet.
Win (low volatility): Pick the winning horse to win up to 800x the bet.
Exacta (medium volatility): Pick the 1st and 2nd horse in exact order to win up to 1,800x the bet.
Trifecta (high volatility): Pick the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd horse in the exact order to win up to 2,800x the bet.
The other part of the wheel, called the Big Wheel is also triggered by landing three scatters. Here players are given one spin on the big wheel to win multipliers. You can also spin into a section that will win you access to the horse racing feature.

Conclusion

Horse Racing as mentioned earlier is one of the most enduring and exciting parts of the gambling world, with years of history and tradition. What people will think about having horse racing combined with slot gaming we aren’t sure, but if the reception of both of these things individually is anything to go by, Play ‘n GO may have a hit on their hands. The winning potential is also not too bad with a decent RTP and a top win that would easily entice most players.