Unusual Slot Machine Themes

Sevens, cherries, bars, diamonds… Get three in a row, and you win a prize!

Slot machines may have started with a basic “spin the reels and see what happens” premise, but technology has created new games that are well beyond simplistic.

Walk through any casino floor or pull up a betting site on your computer and you’ll find a slot game that represents pretty much anything that you can imagine. There are tributes to musicians, movie themes, television, food, sports, cartoons, mythology, cowboys, and mobsters.

Software designers have the creative doors wide open to them and can evolve the entire slot concept as technology advances.

I’ve looked at a plethora of slot games for various reviews and articles and enjoy all of the clever twists that newer versions now take. Check out The Matrix, Jurassic World, Bridesmaids, Dr. Jekyll, and Mr. Hyde, and hundreds of others, and you’ll be thoroughly entertained on your quest for the big bucks.

Every so often, though, a game appears that makes you say “huh?” I did say that pretty much any topic could be converted to slot play, but some themes really stretch the imagination.

The following are ten crazy slot themes that you may enjoy playing, or maybe you’ll just be entertained reading about them.

1. Sharknado

Before 2013, no one had ever used the word “Sharknado,” but that one low-budget movie produced for the Syfy network created a phenomenon.

Sharks that get sucked up into a tornado and then wreak havoc on land dwellers. I would have enjoyed being in the pitch meeting for that premise!

While it remained laughable, it still attracted a huge audience and subsequently spurred on four sequels, as well as a five-reel slot game created by Pariplay that pays tribute to the original Sharknado.

I have to admit, I was intrigued and enjoyed testing this one out to see how well it befit the movie premise, and I found it to be an accurate representation. The original movie’s main characters, played by Tara Reid, John Heard, and Ian Ziering, show their faces on the screen, but it’s all of the little effects that make the difference.

Throughout gameplay, you’ll see sharks bobbing up and down in the background, and then, all of a sudden, a tornado starts and a helicopter appears out of nowhere to drop some bombs on the flying menaces. If the nuke does land on your reels, things get wild. You’ll see wild cards and then a shark storm of prize multipliers with the second bonus feature.

This game offers a low budget, just like its film inspiration. You can spin for anywhere from .25 to 12.50 per round. If the sight of blood doesn’t sit well with you, though, don’t win. Winning combinations are blood-splashed to highlight their success.

2. Sneak a Peek: Planet Exotica

Planet Exotica is part of Microgaming’s Sneak a Peek series and is definitely for adults only. The idea of strip slots is nothing new, but alien strippers?

You’ll find a plethora of aliens, along with bouncers, bartenders, and some red vinyl-like lips that provide you with a “Select a Smooch” feature that triggers free games. Not enough for you? If a lip gloss tube accompanies the smooches, your experience heightens with more freebies or an added multiplier.

You’re probably curious about the Sneak a Peek bonus, aren’t you?

Enter the bonus round, and you now have the job of matching up items of clothing. If you match three like items, your “alien stripper” removes that garment. If you’re successful three times in a row, you’ll then have a naked alien standing in front of you.

Do you remember that I said there were bouncers, though? They’ll try to stop you, so be persistent!

3. Hoffmania

It might be a little too soon to bring back the cheese factor, since we just discussed Sharknado, but I just have to do it. I absolutely can’t pass on Hoffmania!

I’m talking about David Hasselhoff, star of Knight Rider, Baywatch, and Guinness World Record holder for being the “most watched man on TV.” The Hoff took Germany by storm, where his music career experienced the success that was lacking in the US.

Hoffmania is the brainchild of Novomatic and is a tribute to the singer/actor with the “Golden Hoff” symbol that awards free spins. The more you get to do for him, the more you’ll receive. It’s tongue-in-cheek, just like most of his appearances, so it’s an appropriate homage to his career.

It may be fun, or it may be laughable, but you can claim a 400,000-credit prize, and that’s no joke.

4. Leprechaun Goes to Hell

Leprechauns – mythical fairies that proclaim your cereal to be magically delicious.

You don’t need me to tell you that this isn’t the sweet, whimsical game that you would typically associate with leprechauns. After all, just read the title once again.

Yes, you’ll be looking for the elusive pot of gold, but you’ll encounter pentagrams, tridents, skull-and-bones-adorned top hats, and green poisonous potion along the way. If the mischievous leprechaun should see his way to cooperate with you, you’ll claim a three-thousand-per-credit prize for five little devils on one pay line.

Play’n GO is the company behind Leprechaun Goes to Hell, and it does make you wonder if its designers are friends with the writers of Spongebob Squarepants.

5. Zombies

You’ve got to figure that a segue from leprechauns to zombies wouldn’t be much of a reach.

There are a few zombie-themed games out there today, but this one by NetEnt is simply called Zombies. It treats you to background audio featuring the sounds of the dead. Hmmm… I don’t have that on my Pandora playlist.

You don’t even need to click the spin button to get a good grasp on what this game offers. Just peek at the board itself with its eerie premise. You’ll see brains, eyeballs, chainsaws, and other blood-spattered weapons. Prepare yourself to hit a winning combination, as you’ll be “cheered on” (maybe not the most appropriate description) by a zombie that suddenly pops up on your screen.

If the symbols aren’t enough to catch your attention, how about the bonus game that features you in a shopping mall shooting the undead as they come toward you? You’d best have a good eye, as your credit balance depends on it.

Prepare yourself again, though, because if you get to claim a big win, you also get to watch a zombie get his head chopped off with a meat cleaver. You just don’t see that every day, do you?

Some people will consider this to be an odd slot game, but others will embrace the premise, as zombies seem to be everywhere. Have you ever heard of a little show called The Walking Dead?

6. Rudolph’s Revenge

The Grinch Who Stole Christmas featured a rogue Christmas hater who eventually found the spirit of the holiday and left us with a happy ending. The only way you’ll have a feel-good conclusion from RTG’s (RealTime Gaming’s) Rudolph’s Revenge is by claiming some big prizes along the way.

Spin the reels, and you’ll face a menacing Rudolph brandishing a baseball bat, an elf encased in an ice cube, another one bound and gagged, as well as a bomb ticking gift. It’s not exactly Miracle on 42nd Street.

This is a progressive jackpot game with a relatively high five-figure prize up for grabs at times.

Rudolph’s Revenge could be compared to South Park, as at first glance everything appears to be cute and wholesome, but that’s just on the surface.

By the way, if you think Rudolph’s Revenge sounds like the game for you, you may also want to check out Santa Strikes Back. I don’t need to elaborate for you to get the gist.

7. Vikings Go Berzerk

This is another one of those slot games with a name that gives away its uniqueness. Vikings that go crazy?

Yggdrasil kicks off their unusual game premise with a video introduction that sets the stage. The symbols that cover the reels are the faces of the rage-filled Vikings, and in this case, you want them to be mad – really mad.

Once you fill your rage meter, you get free spins. All Vikings are berzerk in free spins mode, and they always win when faced with the evil Siren.

The highest-paying Viking only provides a 250-per-credit top payout, but there are plenty of chances to claim more treasure through free spins, multipliers, and bonus rounds.

8. Blood Suckers

NetEnt capitalizes on the pop culture trends once again with Blood Suckers. This time, the zombies are at rest, and the vampires come out to play.

This isn’t your Twilight tribute to vampires, though. It’s eerie and dark, and the objective is to slay the bloodsuckers.

Let’s talk about the bonus game, and you’ll see what I mean. The symbols themselves feature a blood-soaked hammer and stake. You need to enter the dark burial chamber and open coffins. If it’s vampire-occupied, a wooden stake will stab it in the heart, leaving substantial blood spatter behind. You continue to kill and up your bonus coins until you eventually reveal an empty coffin.

I don’t find the premise to be that unusual, but the way the game is structured is the strange part. It is a very adult game that’s not for the faint of heart.

9. Ted

The year is 2012, and Mark Wahlberg (well, okay, his character) has a childhood wish to have his teddy bear come to life – and it does. But Ted never leaves.

Does the movie synopsis set the stage for this slot game? Absolutely.

It may sound like a cute kids’ movie, but let’s just say that Ted is voiced by Family Guy’s Seth McFarlane and is a big fan of four-letter words.

Blueprint Gaming saw the potential to take a really weird film premise and convert it into an entertaining and interactive slot game that warrants inclusion on this list of unusual ones.

“Psychedelic” is the operative word in this game. Three psychedelic bonuses contribute to the value-add possibilities. You’ll find Psychedelic Super Spins, Psychedelic Bonus Boosts, and Psychedelic Colossal Spins. That’s not to mention the Beer Shuffle, TV Streak, and Lazer Gun Infectious Wilds.

Hey, who needs 7s and cherries when you have Wheel of Fartune bonuses and Lazer Gun Infectious Wilds, am I right?

10. Kobushi

You may not be familiar with Kobushi, but it was an ABC-TV show that aired in 2012 and featured martial arts-wielding sushi defending their village from a porcelain cat named Manekineko.

The premise for the show is unusual, so a slot game translation by iSoftbet? Well, you can’t say that’s it bland and ordinary, can you?

I do have to say that the premise is like no other and I found the bonus round to be unique, as well. Unique and entertaining, I should say.

You pick a sushi bowl to determine your free game count. Then you pick a pot that contains your multiplier. You don’t stop there, though. The game symbols start scrolling horizontally across your screen, and you stop the movement to then receive an extra wild card.

During the game, the characters run across or pop up on the screen, and it keeps your attention and maintains a fun factor that you don’t find with every slot game.

Yes, pieces of sushi that double as martial arts experts all out to conquer a porcelain cat and save their home is quite a stretch, but so are zombies, vampires, and the Hoff.

How About Ten More Oddballs?

• Emoji Planet
• Bible Slots
• Baywatch
• Cash and Curry
• Halloween (the movie)
• Codfather
• Taco Brothers
• Basic Instinct
• The Fabric
• Cyrus the Virus