Skill based slots

Yesterday, I played the skill-based slot machine "Spin Devil" at the Casino Royale. The bonus triggers fairly often. In the bonus, you use a small joystick on the machine to move a tornado around the screen destroying objects. Three of those objects award three credit amounts, that are visible on the machine at all times. If you do not manage to get all three bonuses, their amount goes up for the next bonus round. That means this machine can be vultured.

It took me quite a while to get all three, I do not know if with skill you can get them every single time or if there is a fair amount of randomness involved.

All in all, the machine was kinda fun. Nobody else seemed all that interested though. They need to advertise it more.

Next stop: Frogger

Does anybody know of any other skill based slots in Vegas?

I don't think Spin Devil is a skill based game. It has been out for a few years and the skill based legislation just passed recently.

There are different iterations of Spin Devil. The skill based one is labelled as such.

Turns out Frogger @ Cosmo isn't skill based. Is the skill based variant to be found in Vegas?

There's been a machine out for a while (not sure how long ) it has a joy stick on the game. It's an aquatic game. In the bonus round you control a sea turtle. You pick up different color and value jems while you swim though the sea. I don't know if it's skill but the 3 times I played it the better I did picking up jems the more I recived in the bonus round. I didn't think to remember the name because I know it when I see it. FIY it was not in Vegas I played it but I'm 75% certain I seen it in Vegas. I just didn't play it.

They have that game across from Ruth Chris at the hard rock Biloxi

Prior to SB 9, Nevada allowed for a skill-based component to be worth up to 4% of a slot machine's return. That's how IGT got their skill-based bonus games out in Vegas (and Bally prior to that). There used to be five IGT titles that had skill-based bonuses in Vegas at once: Spin Devil, Tully's Treasure Hunt (which Axelwolf played), Blood Life Legends, Aladdin Prince of Adventure, and Atari Centipede. Tully, Aladdin, and Blood Life are essentially the same video reel game in different graphics packages, and those three offered the player a choice of taking free spins or the skill-based bonus. The skill bonuses of Spin Devil and Centipede are mandatory.

I'm surprised and not happy that Spin Devil seems to have outlasted the other four. I believe that its bonus round was by far and away the worst of them all -- gameplay was guaranteed to last for only 20 to 36 seconds; the only way to even come close to that little bonus time in any of the other games was via intentional suicide in Centipede. I'm also convinced that it was the only one of the five IGT games in Vegas where you could play perfectly and still get screwed out of a significant portion of the bonus money accumulated. I vultured IGT's other skill-based bonus games but ignored Spin Devil.

Games in AGS' "It Pays To Know" line of slots typically have multiple bonus features, of which one will be trivia or knowledge-based. But I think only Family Feud can still be found in Vegas and that is definitely not a vulturable game.

As for Frogger, Konami said that they would eventually get a skill-based version out on the casino floor. When that arrives is anyone's guess. The most likely next stop is Space Invaders, from SciGames/WMS/Bally.

Thanks doughtaker, that helped a lot!

If anyone finds any of the machines mentioned in Vegas, let me know.

Quote: Canyonero

Thanks doughtaker, that helped a lot!

If anyone finds any of the machines mentioned in Vegas, let me know.

Didn't Bozzer say Frogger was at Cosmo?

Quote: AxelWolf

Didn't Bozzer say Frogger was at Cosmo?

There is a Frogger slot, but not skill based.

I think it can be consider as a skill slot game. You are going to control a the game using a physical joystick. For me if a slot machine is consider a skill game if a user can somehow control how he will get more bonuses.

IMHO not skill-based.

The only real skill-based slots were the mechanical "pachislo" machines in Japan. Customer pushes a button to stop each wheel (L --> R, however). Payouts were low enough that even skilled players had a small net disadvantage. One might find a few on ebay for a look-see.

Only one category of skill playing slots, worthless skill. If grandma can play, faghettaboutit.

Could it be said about the Frogger game at Cosmo that the bonus may require skill but the credits you get has nothing to do with it? In other words, they balance things out with consolation prizes for bad players.

Quote: Wizard

Could it be said about the Frogger game at Cosmo that the bonus may require skill but the credits you get has nothing to do with it? In other words, they balance things out with consolation prizes for bad players.

No, because you cannot actually influence the frog in any way during the bonus. You just watch the "game" and win if the frog ends up on a credit prize or jackpot.

Quote: Canyonero

No, because you cannot actually influence the frog in any way during the bonus. You just watch the "game" and win if the frog ends up on a credit prize or jackpot.

Correct, the Frogger at Cosmo is nothing like the one discussed last year. Pure random slot with no possible influence in he game.

I remember reading somewhere that there was a knowledge based slot that you won based on your answers, so it paid to be smart, literally and figuratively. The rub or the solution, whichever way you look at it was that many of the questions repeated and friends who had already answered the question were telling their friends the correct answers and getting them to get paid. Other people who didn't have friends who already knew the answers were using Google on their smartphones and getting paid. For example, many people don't know when The Battle Of Hastings was fought. If that were a slot answer, it wouldn't take too much do type into Google ,"Battle Of Hastings," date, and get the correct answer, "October 14, 1066." ,The slot paid out very well due to people using these two methods(in fact, Casino employees were even encouraging people who didn't know they could just Google the question to use Google), and the slot was taken off the market when slot execs realized what was happening due to the slot becoming a huge ATM in a way.

Quote: Dean

I remember reading somewhere that there was a knowledge based slot that you won based on your answers, so it paid to be smart, literally and figuratively. The rub or the solution, whichever way you look at it was that many of the questions repeated and friends who had already answered the question were telling their friends the correct answers and getting them to get paid. Other people who didn't have friends who already knew the answers were using Google on their smartphones and getting paid. For example, many people don't know when The Battle Of Hastings was fought. If that were a slot answer, it wouldn't take too much do type into Google ,"Battle Of Hastings," date, and get the correct answer, "October 14, 1066." ,The slot paid out very well due to people using these two methods(in fact, Casino employees were even encouraging people who didn't know they could just Google the question to use Google), and the slot was taken off the market when slot execs realized what was happening due to the slot becoming a huge ATM in a way.

Two games that AGS manufactured for their "It Pays To Know" line could fit your description: Ripley's Believe It Or Not, and Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader? I wonder which one you might be referring to, because even taking into account the ability to call friends or Google up answers to ensure higher bonus payouts, I don't see a method in either game where ploppies/non-vultures could play straight up and get over 100% payback. They could certainly reduce the slot's hold, but the penalty for a correct answer on the first try versus second try was negligible unless one was betting max on Ripley's with an abnormally high progressive at stake.

Quote: doughtaker

Two games that AGS manufactured for their "It Pays To Know" line could fit your description: Ripley's Believe It Or Not, and Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader? I wonder which one you might be referring to, because even taking into account the ability to call friends or Google up answers to ensure higher bonus payouts, I don't see a method in either game where ploppies/non-vultures could play straight up and get over 100% payback. They could certainly reduce the slot's hold, but the penalty for a correct answer on the first try versus second try was negligible unless one was betting max on Ripley's with an abnormally high progressive at stake.

Yes, it was Ripley's Believe It Or Not slot game that I was talking about! Thank you for refre4shing my memory! :D

Quote: doughtaker

Two games that AGS manufactured for their "It Pays To Know" line could fit your description: Ripley's Believe It Or Not, and Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader? I wonder which one you might be referring to, because even taking into account the ability to call friends or Google up answers to ensure higher bonus payouts, I don't see a method in either game where ploppies/non-vultures could play straight up and get over 100% payback. They could certainly reduce the slot's hold, but the penalty for a correct answer on the first try versus second try was negligible unless one was betting max on Ripley's with an abnormally high progressive at stake.

Yes, it was Ripley's Believe It Or Not slot game that I was talking about! Thank you for refre4shing my memory! :D

Sorry to wake up an old thread, but I'd rather do that than start a new thread for the same topic.

As some of you know, I'm doing a complete rewrite of Gambling 102. I would say I'm about 80% done. Here is a blurb about skill-based slots, that I'd like to run by the more experienced slot players than me for accuracy. I welcome all comments and corrections.

Quote: Gambling 102 edition 2 draft

Skill based slots also offer a possible advantage for "skilled" players. The way these games generally work is players vest money into a bonus fund as they play. When they hit the bonus, their win will depend on how much money is in that fund as well as the player's skill level. If you've played after some unskilled players, there will be more money to be won in the bonus. In my limited experience, I find the skill level required in these games to be pretty low, so there usually isn't enough money in the bonus banks to be worth playing. However, with a lot of patience and time, there are ripe games to be found.

Quote: Wizard

Sorry to wake up an old thread, but I'd rather do that than start a new thread for the same topic.

As some of you know, I'm doing a complete rewrite of Gambling 102. I would say I'm about 80% done. Here is a blurb about skill-based slots, that I'd like to run by the more experienced slot players than me for accuracy. I welcome all comments and corrections.

There is a much more lucrative AP play there that depended on location and other factors.

I guess pm me since everyone is so quick to explode when AP secrets are given out

Quote: darkoz

There is a much more lucrative AP play there that depended on location and other factors.

I guess pm me since everyone is so quick to explode when AP secrets are given out

Umm. How does that help the APs? He's writing a book. Of course I want the book to have some value. But either he can't use your tip out of respect for not spoiling a play, or he uses it and spoils the play, making the advice useless. Where is the upside of that?

Quote: beachbumbabs

Umm. How does that help the APs? He's writing a book. Of course I want the book to have some value. But either he can't use your tip out of respect for not spoiling a play, or he uses it and spoils the play, making the advice useless. Where is the upside of that?

Oh its for inclusion in a book?

Then of course I dont mind if he discusses the play

Seriously this is that fine line.

I will wait to see what the Wizard says. If he asks I will give him this one. The play is only useful in limited circumstances

Quote: Dean

For example, many people don't know when The Battle Of Hastings was fought. If that were a slot answer, it wouldn't take too much do type into Google ,"Battle Of Hastings," date, and get the correct answer, "October 14, 1066."

About 10% of the answers were wrong.
Google was a big help. But so was knowing when the game designers f**ked up.

Note: Much of the game payout was in large bonus rounds (versus progressives).
However, I never saw a par sheet or machine settings.
Since I never made 10K on the game, I didn't process my data & try to reverse-engineer the settings.

Quote: doughtaker

Prior to SB 9, Nevada allowed for a skill-based component to be worth up to 4% of a slot machine's return. That's how IGT got their skill-based bonus games out in Vegas (and Bally prior to that). There used to be five IGT titles that had skill-based bonuses in Vegas at once: Spin Devil, Tully's Treasure Hunt (which Axelwolf played), Blood Life Legends, Aladdin Prince of Adventure, and Atari Centipede. Tully, Aladdin, and Blood Life are essentially the same video reel game in different graphics packages, and those three offered the player a choice of taking free spins or the skill-based bonus. The skill bonuses of Spin Devil and Centipede are mandatory.

I'm surprised and not happy that Spin Devil seems to have outlasted the other four. I believe that its bonus round was by far and away the worst of them all -- gameplay was guaranteed to last for only 20 to 36 seconds; the only way to even come close to that little bonus time in any of the other games was via intentional suicide in Centipede. I'm also convinced that it was the only one of the five IGT games in Vegas where you could play perfectly and still get screwed out of a significant portion of the bonus money accumulated. I vultured IGT's other skill-based bonus games but ignored Spin Devil.

Games in AGS' "It Pays To Know" line of slots typically have multiple bonus features, of which one will be trivia or knowledge-based. But I think only Family Feud can still be found in Vegas and that is definitely not a vulturable game.

As for Frogger, Konami said that they would eventually get a skill-based version out on the casino floor. When that arrives is anyone's guess. The most likely next stop is Space Invaders, from SciGames/WMS/Bally.

Centipede's skill game is NOT mandatory, there is a free spin option if you do not want to play the skill version. For those wondering you play three levels of centipede (1st with 1 fully connected centipede, 2nd with one spare head, 3rd with 2 spare heads) and each completed level wins a prize. On the 3rd level only the scorpion is available to be hit for a fourth jackpot payout. Failing to complete the first wave pays a consolation prize based on the number of spiders you got before losing all lives (which is based on bet and # of bonus symbols hit)

The skill games I play anymore are Centipede, Race Ace and Family Feud.

Centipede is a port of the Atari arcade game, and at least where I find it, players suck and the skill pots are usually quite nice. netting a $300 bonus if you clear the three levels.
Race Ace is a mario kart style game that uses a clone of the Dolly slot machine for it's base mechanics, including the Wild becomes a full reel and 1 bonus symbol for a bonus random events. You can choose between the skill or a free spin bonus, the latter being a full clone of the "Classic Dolly" bonus. Where I find this game, first is an easy hundred bucks and 95%+ of the time no problem to finish in first.

Family Feud just cause the questions used in the Fast Money and Survey Says bonuses are straight from the tv show, even the point values haven't been changed, so extremely vulnerable to google lookup.

Quote: Wizard

Sorry to wake up an old thread, but I'd rather do that than start a new thread for the same topic.

As some of you know, I'm doing a complete rewrite of Gambling 102. I would say I'm about 80% done. Here is a blurb about skill-based slots, that I'd like to run by the more experienced slot players than me for accuracy. I welcome all comments and corrections.

is now the book ready? any info on online slot? all RTP and some online slot games in pt, rtp from 95%-99.9%, What skills are needed?

My GF and I played some skill based slots at Foxwoods that were unlike any we played before. They were basically mobile games, it was called the Gamblit Gaming Tri Seat or something like that

TL;DR is that the rules about how much wagers cost were confusing because there is no spin button, and the payouts were miserable. No game held our attention for longer than a few minutes

Here are the 6 we had. Our experience was not great: this is all from memory of a week old trip so some details might be off.

Deal or no deal video poker: the least skill based of the four. PoK or better to get paid. One round of swapping where you pick your new cards from deal or no deal cases. While it only happened once, if you are close to a paying hand, you can get a call from the banker and accept an intermediate payout, for example if you have three of a kind with one choice left, you could take a payout between three of a kind and full house instead of picking. This only happened to us once. The animated girls are cringey. I’m not a big video poker enthusiast so I’d ifbthis is nicer or more fun than good old Jacks or Better

Lucky Words: The most skill based. Similar to an old game called text twist but you could compare it to boggle. Grid of letters, swiping words fills 8 or so meters on the right fill at a 1letter/space and a full meter offers a chance at a payout (or none at all) often we wagered $1.00 per game and were never awarded more than $0.17 / meter for a $0.30 “win”. If you up your bet you can activate a 7/8 letter word persistent jackpot meter. You need to get maybe 10 8 letter words but you have as many games as you want to do it. My girlfriend and I aren’t good at this game and the min. For these jackpots was too high. At least the wager/reward system was straight forward.

Catapult king: Angry birds clone with TERRIBLE graphics. Costs 1$/ shot at the castle!! Even Angry birds isn’t that aggressive with its in app purchases. There is some sort of level based progression but we just didn’t find it fun. One REALLY interesting thing is there are non money payouts in the form of “magic” that you can use in game for power ups. I think you get paid for knocking down soldiers on the first shot but we weren’t making money.

Match 3volution: 2048/match three type game where three matching symbols merge to form the next in a hierarchy. It costs $1 every time you touch the screen. It took us quite a while to realize this AND took us a while to figure out how we got paid. Every time you match 3 symbols a small wheel spins on the right side. You have a chance of getting paid, getting nothing, something good happening like a wild card or a chance to move a bad placement or SOMETHING BAD HAPPENING for just playing the game correctly. When we did get a payout it was rarely more than $1 (but we did get a few in the 2-4$ range). Luckily my GF is good at these types of games and I think we actually managed to make around $6 but I couldn’t figure out if higher payout is based on higher skill or if we just got lucky. This game could REALLLY hurt your wallet if you are bad at this sort of game.

Pub Caps: I spy type game. My simpleton favorite, best artwork, although it does get repetitive and again we never in maybe 25 games got paid more than our initial wager. $1 per game, a field of bottle caps that were nicely colored for fake craft beers are laid out. The top of the screen lists 4-10 bottle caps that must be found. Sometimes you need to find more than one of the same and one time you had to find them in order. Not sure what triggered that. You have 20 or 30 seconds. My girlfriend and I found them all every time but we watched an old lady struggle before we played. Once you find them all you go to a screen and pick 3-5 bottle caps with prizes underneath(most have nothing) including 3 bonus caps. We never got the bonus cuz you need to get all 3. I can’t remember if you need to match others to get the prize but we never made more than $1

Quote: GamblinCabbie

The skill games I play anymore are Centipede, Race Ace and Family Feud.

Centipede is a port of the Atari arcade game, and at least where I find it, players suck and the skill pots are usually quite nice. netting a $300 bonus if you clear the three levels.
Race Ace is a mario kart style game that uses a clone of the Dolly slot machine for it's base mechanics, including the Wild becomes a full reel and 1 bonus symbol for a bonus random events. You can choose between the skill or a free spin bonus, the latter being a full clone of the "Classic Dolly" bonus. Where I find this game, first is an easy hundred bucks and 95%+ of the time no problem to finish in first.

Family Feud just cause the questions used in the Fast Money and Survey Says bonuses are straight from the tv show, even the point values haven't been changed, so extremely vulnerable to google lookup.

Sigh, if only they had that crap around my area. Must only be located in vegas.

skill based slot is a slot where a user can anyhow control how he will get more bonuses

Quote: logandwilliams

skill based slot is a slot where a user can anyhow control how he will get more bonuses

You are creeping me out.

Quote: GBAM

My GF and I played some skill based slots at Foxwoods that were unlike any we played before. They were basically mobile games, it was called the Gamblit Gaming Tri Seat or something like that

TL;DR is that the rules about how much wagers cost were confusing because there is no spin button, and the payouts were miserable. No game held our attention for longer than a few minutes.

Match 3volution: 2048/match three type game where three matching symbols merge to form the next in a hierarchy. It costs $1 every time you touch the screen. It took us quite a while to realize this AND took us a while to figure out how we got paid. Every time you match 3 symbols a small wheel spins on the right side. You have a chance of getting paid, getting nothing, something good happening like a wild card or a chance to move a bad placement or SOMETHING BAD HAPPENING for just playing the game correctly. When we did get a payout it was rarely more than $1 (but we did get a few in the 2-4$ range). Luckily my GF is good at these types of games and I think we actually managed to make around $6 but I couldn’t figure out if higher payout is based on higher skill or if we just got lucky. This game could REALLLY hurt your wallet if you are bad at this sort of game.

thx.
i've seen this one played.
the lady playing it was awful with the special movement abilities.
a few times she could have swapped 2 symbols with make a 3 match of a higher symbol. but she kept on using it to 3 match the lower symbols.
it seemed to have worked. she cashed out with $1 profit after playing 20min or so.
unless she popped in more $ since i last walked by her 20min ago.

Quote: AxelWolf

You are creeping me out.

English is almost certainly not his first language.

Pure Bot, has to be.

Williams College graduate maybe.

Quote: GBAM

My GF and I played some skill based slots at Foxwoods that were unlike any we played before. They were basically mobile games, it was called the Gamblit Gaming Tri Seat or something like that.

TL;DR is that the rules about how much wagers cost were confusing because there is no spin button, and the payouts were miserable. No game held our attention for longer than a few minutes

Match 3volution: 2048/match three type game where three matching symbols merge to form the next in a hierarchy. It costs $1 every time you touch the screen. It took us quite a while to realize this AND took us a while to figure out how we got paid. Every time you match 3 symbols a small wheel spins on the right side. You have a chance of getting paid, getting nothing, something good happening like a wild card or a chance to move a bad placement or SOMETHING BAD HAPPENING for just playing the game correctly. When we did get a payout it was rarely more than $1 (but we did get a few in the 2-4$ range). Luckily my GF is good at these types of games and I think we actually managed to make around $6 but I couldn’t figure out if higher payout is based on higher skill or if we just got lucky. This game could REALLLY hurt your wallet if you are bad at this sort of game.

i played some Match Evolution.
it's setup like a phone app game where you get points for matches.
i guess the game is trying to attract the Candy Crush demographic by giving points.
but the points seem to be meaningless and doesnt seem to affect payout.

minimum payout for a 3match is .20 and max is $50 on the minimum $1 bet.
if you do multiple matches at the same time, the top payout increases but not the minimum.
for a dual 3match, the max payout increases to $60. for a triple 3match, the max is $80. etc...
but the minimum is still $0.20.
i did a triple 3match and only got $0.40. :(

matching of higher level characters also doesnt increase payout.
it's still between .20 and $50 for a single match.

if you do a single 5match or more, you get more points than a 3match.
again, it doesnt seem like more points equate to more payout.

it is a fun game where the skill is on the placing of the characters to get matches and deciding on how to use the special abilities.
but i dont see a correlation between more skill equating to more $.
payouts seem random which is infurating when you plan for a triple 3match and dont get rewarded for your effort. :(


most of my payouts were either less than my $1bet, a special ability which doesnt pay anything, no payout, or a hazard which hinders me.

i put in a $20, got down to $8 then got awarded $10 for a 3match.
then i quit for a $2 loss.

anyone find a good strategy for this game?

Quote: Boz

Pure Bot, has to be.

A slot bot.

Here's the basic article I wrote a year ago on skill-based slots: https://easy.vegas/games/slots/skill

I'll have to spend some time checking out the various offerings to make it more specific rather than general, but I hope the general version is pretty accurate.

Ya, I've seen people playing those too. I really don't see the "skill" there rather "understanding" of what you gotta do in the game. But it's called gambling for a reason, it' pure luck there unless you know how to tilt the machine hahaha

Quote: MichaelBluejay

Here's the basic article I wrote a year ago on skill-based slots: https://easy.vegas/games/slots/skill

I'll have to spend some time checking out the various offerings to make it more specific rather than general, but I hope the general version is pretty accurate.

i vote Match Evolution if you want a skill based game to analyze. (see my review above.)

and someone said on the previous page, Match Evolution was the only game out of the multiple skill games on that machine that a player came out ahead.

Have you tried Pirates skill game from Prominentt Games? I just love it. You should try their games.

Quote: stephencmarvin

Have you tried Pirates skill game from Prominentt Games? I just love it. You should try their games.

Not that I know of, although, if it has, “Prize viewer,” I rarely pay much attention to the actual game.

Quote: Mission146

Not that I know of, although, if it has, “Prize viewer,” I rarely pay much attention to the actual game.

It's similar to scarab or Golden Egypt in mechanism.

My experience is the opportunities are limited with Pirates

Quote: darkoz

It's similar to scarab or Golden Egypt in mechanism.

My experience is the opportunities are limited with Pirates

Are you referring to a PA game of Skill or the game in Commercial Casinos? I’m not going to name it because I’m 99% sure I know which game you mean.

Quote: Mission146

Are you referring to a PA game of Skill or the game in Commercial Casinos? I’m not going to name it because I’m 99% sure I know which game you mean.

It's got a (not well Known) cereal with the same name.

Quote: stephencmarvin

Have you tried Pirates skill game from Prominentt Games? I just love it. You should try their games.

i mean seriously guys this is his like 3rd freaking post about this i bet i could look up his name and find him as an employee

Could you message me please

Quote: LowLevelEmploye

Could you message me please

No


ZCore13

Quote: Zcore13

No


ZCore13

I think he got the message lol

Quote: LowLevelEmploye

Could you message me please

interesting.. why cant i flag his post??