Caddyshack Slot
WMS are widely known across the slot machine industry for keeping land based casino slots alive with their constant machine and game feature design innovations. So big a change was the colossal reels feature used by Forbidden Dragons and other games in this series that when 1st supplied people were actually queuing to use the new machines at Las Vegas Casinos. I know this for a painful fact as I waited over 30 minutes to play this game for the first time!
A film this strange clearly needed a unique slot to match and WMS have decided to really mix things up for this release, they have gone with a 3x3 reel format which you don't see very often anymore, further because of the simplicity of the base game-play they have absolutely packed the game with movie cut scenes, sound effects and no less than seven bonus rounds to keep things lively.
Go-pher the jackpot! Though we don't know exactly what the top jackpot will be as the game isn't fully finished we do know they are aiming for a fixed sum rather than progressive, predictions are that it will be a big one too as the game is set to have a max bet of a ludicrous 1200 credits! By using a 3x3 video reel the game will effectively have 9 reels and 8 lines which is going to create some very interesting combination possibilities, no stats on variance but expect it to be high, this release may be one for the high rollers, which is ironic given the fairly silly game theme.
Theme
I'm not a fan of modern cheesy comedies, mainly because I think no one did slapstick as well as 80's movies like Caddyshack. The game machine for this title has two video screens, one for the interactive video reels and another above to display the bonus rounds and movie clips. the cabinet isn't the most technologically advanced we have seen but it doesn't need to be, all it needs is a good display area and sound system for the audio and visual draw of this game, both of which it has, and they are of superb quality.
The iconic Bushwood country club serves as the golf course backdrop, you will find all the cast of the film here and each one of the 7 bonus games is backed by movie scenes and voiceovers from a specific character. The Gopher of course, appears frequently, dancing on the screen at times when celebration is required. The reel symbols are mostly the stars of the movie, but you also find a few stage props used in the form of a candy wrapper (From an iconic scene) and the golf course members logo. The games single wild, which is fixed given the reel structure, is a pristine white golf ball, whilst the bonus trigger is an old fashioned wooden golf club.
Features
The big draw of this game is going to be the seven bonus games, each draws from an area of the movie as its theme and is initiated by collection 3 of the bonus triggering golf club icons, you will then chip a ball onto the top screen and one of the features gets teed off. Let's check out the basics of these bonus games, will they be a hole in one, or a bogey?
- I'm alright free spins - Danny Noonan, the caddy who inspires the films name, waits to greet you with a randomly awarded number of free spins.
- Cinderella Story - Bill Murray’s fabulous gopher hunting groundskeeper hosts this round, granting you a random win multiplier on your reel win of up to 50x!
- Gophers Wilds - Watch the film's most loved, and the country clubs most hated, burrow his way across the reels with wilds in his wake, at the end of the round they will settle into position on the reels.
- The best game of my life - Bishop Fred Pickering gets struck by lightning in this godly golf game, a random multiplier awaits the faithful!
- Na-Na-Na-Na-Na-Na - The funniest round of the game, inspired by the iconic humming scene from Chevy Chase where he puts shot after impossible shot - every single one he manages in this round grants you an extra wild.
- Improve your lie - Seminal cheat and course founder Judge Elihu Smails hosts this round where random wilds drop on to your reels and improve your existing win.
- Zingers - Al Czervik, the classless neoveau riche businessman of the club is your ally here, throwing out the cash with a random credit win for this bonus game.
Summary
Caddyshack has all the hallmarks of a great game which will be enjoyed for years to come, only the full version release will tell us if the bet sizing and volatility support or detract from the great design and gameplay.
