SLOTS AT ICE
The ICE trade show gives suppliers one more chance to hawk the year’s new games
By Frank Legato
We always cover the new slot games extensively when the new portfolios are launched by suppliers at the Global Gaming Expo trade show in October. However, many of those same suppliers bring the year’s new games to the ICE trade show a few months later.
ICE—it stands for International Casino Exhibition—is the forum where manufacturers introduce their games to casino operators in the U.K. and in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) markets. It was held this year for the first time in Barcelona, Spain, at the massive Fira convention facility.
Here are some of the highlights from major slot manufacturers among games revealed for the first time for European markets at the ICE Barcelona show.
Ainsworth Game Technology
While Ainsworth did not have a dedicated stand at ICE, several of the manufacturer’s games were featured at the huge stand of Novomatic AG, the company’s majority shareholder, including games on the new dual-screen version of the A-STAR Raptor cabinet, which expands the hardware series beyond the original 49-inch portrait version.
Featured games included Mariachi Mice, a three-pot game with a free- spin round called the “Mariachi Bonus” that features one or more enhancements attached to the funny mice characters. Depending on the pot trigger, the Mariachi Bonus awards eight free spins enhanced with sticky wild symbols, extra free games, or a “Jackpot Chance” feature. The latter feature displays all four jackpots at the top of the screen, including the top Grand Jackpot. Each jackpot has a row of circles underneath, and any time a jackpot symbol lands during the free spins, one of the circles is filled. Thus, players can win multiple jackpots in a single feature.
Other highlighted games included the two-game family of Rising Bull and Rising Rooster. Each is a threepot game in which the pots—represented by the title character—enhance a hold-and-spin feature. During this feature, reaching various coin thresholds unlocks extra symbol rows—up to four additional rows for an eight-row feature.
Enhancements include Extra Spins, which adds a fourth spin to the normal three-spin cycle; Growing Credit Prizes, which enhances the cash- on-reels symbols; and Instant Locks, which dispenses with the thresholds to instantly add the four extra rows for an entire feature played out on eight rows of symbols.
Aristocrat Gaming
Aristocrat rolled out many of its top games in packages for the U.K. and EMEA markets, including Bao Zhu Zhao Fu, a refresh of the elegant classic Asian Festival theme with a firecracker spin, enhancing the Aristocrat signature Hold & Spin bonus. The game was presented on Aristocrat’s new Baron cabinet, which was launched at the G2E show in October.
Aristocrat also showed several multi-game packages for U.K. and EMEA markets. One, the Royal Collection III, includes a collection of top- performing games first introduced in the Australian market. Another, Fortune’s Choice, features up to eight popular Asian-themed games. In the latter collection, the player can select not only the denomination, but the bet, with no pre-set forced bets.
Also launched for U.K. and EMEA markets at ICE were popular games including Phoenix Link, Buffalo Gold and Whisker Wheels, all available on either the Baron or the MarsX.
Finally, Aristocrat launched its latest game in its NFL series, Triple Score, for U.K., EMEA and U.S. Army markets— the first appearance of the NFL series in these markets.
Aruze Gaming Global
Aruze Gaming Global (AG2) introduced its new MUSO Summit cabinet to EMEA markets at the show. Featured games included Cash Master Blaster, which offers a perceived- persistence collection bonus that throws coins landing on the primary-game screen to an image of dynamite above the reels.
Randomly, one of these symbols triggers a hold-and-spin bonus that includes cash-on-reels credit awards, icons for lower-level jackpots, and a “+1 Spin” symbol that adds a spin to the three-spin cycle. The bonus lasts until three spins occur with none of these symbols, or until the entire grid is filled, resulting in the top jackpot.
Also featured was AG2’s “Horrorific” game series, with the game family Monster Lab. The player can select from three games in the family, each themed on a famous monster—Wolfie’s Wild, Mummy’s Hold & Spin and Frankie’s Hold & Spin. Each has a primary game with unique symbols and a bonus tied to the featured monster.
IGT
IGT used ICE for U.K. and EMEA launches in several game categories. Among the highlights were several multi-level progressive games for EMEA markets on the dual-screen PeakSlant32 cabinet. One standout was Magic Treasures (base games Dragon and Tiger), which is already the top-performing game in France, according to company officials.
It is a three-pot game, but the pot symbols each enhance the Lock & Spin bonus individually.
One of the most clever involves “Money Balls,” which accumulate during the primary game. When the bonus is triggered, the Money Balls immediately change to credit awards, multipliers for cash-on-reels symbols, or one of the lower-level jackpots, and instantly award those prizes.
Other highlights at the IGT stand included Wheel of Fortune Big Money Week, a game designed specifically for the U.K. market. In addition to the signature wheel-spinning bonus, the player can trigger a feature called “Quadruple Up Free Spins.” This multiplies the screen to four independent reel arrays for 12 free spins.
Konami Gaming, Inc.
Konami Gaming used ICE to launch a new game series titled “From the Universe.” Amid a sea of three-pot games, this new series, consisting of base games Starlight Alaska and Sparkling Egypt, each features unique free-game rounds triggered by line combinations.
The free-spin bonuses start with five free games, and can be extended during the features. Players can win cash-on-reels awards, lowerlevel jackpots and extra spins during the free games, with each award granted instantly. (None of the symbols lock in place.)
Light & Wonder
Light & Wonder rolled out its new Cosmic Upright cabinet for EMEA markets. Introduced at G2E in October, it is a portrait version of the successful Cosmic cabinet with the same 49-inch screen and distinctive edge lighting as the original slant-top version, on an upright base.
The company displayed seven different games on the new cabinet, including Hot Hot Double Blazing Lock, a three-pot game with the pots adding enhancements to a free-spin round that include “Jackpot Spins,” “Royal Replace” and “Extra Flamey.”
Jackpot Spins places circles under each of the four jackpot meters, and each jackpot symbol that lands on a free spin goes toward completing the rows and awarding what can be multiple jackpots. Royal Replace transforms up to three lower-paying royal symbols to cash-on-reels symbols for immediate awards. In Extra Flamey, one or two “Flamey” symbols—animated flame characters—is added to the reels to multiply all cash-on-reels symbols by two or three, respectively.
Novomatic
Novomatic AG featured new games in its Xtension Link progressive slot series. One of the prominent games was Fu Flow, an Asian-themed game featuring a hold-and-spin bonus in which coin thresholds reached during the three-spin cycle expand the reels from four to eight rows.
Also featured was a new group of three-pot games—Tiger Rise, Griffin Catch and Dragon Boost. All feature themed pots into which symbols are collected, triggering free-game and hold-and-spin features.
