Sheik Yer Money Slot Review

Depending on your tolerance for dad jokes, Sheik Yer Money is either an inspired name for a slot or a cringe-worthy one. Whatever the case, there’s no shortage of shekels to be won in this faux Arabian slot from Barcrest.

Slots aren’t known for their cultural sensitivities and all-round subtleties. Stereotypes are exaggerated and racial characteristics are accentuated to the point of poor taste. Still, it’s just a bit of harmless fun, right? Regardless of how they’re perceived in real life, in Sheik Yer Money, Arabs are all turban-wearing, gold watch-wearing oligarchs whose primary motivations in life are money, money and money.

Visually, Barcrest’s games don’t tend to be the greatest, though the features and general gameplay usually atone for this. So it proves to be with Sheik Yer Money, whose reels look flat and insipid, and yet other elements are far more alluring; check the sheik who pops onto the screen, checks his designer wristwatch and waves languidly when you leave the game idling for too long. Graphically, it’s not all bad with Sheik Yer Money; it’s something of a mixed bag.

Hard to Miss

Barcrest are firm believers in keeping their buttons oversized and impossible to miss. It’s as if they’re designed for the visually impaired. The 5-reel slot features just 10 lines and the stake per line can be adjusted using the green plus and red minus buttons in the top left of the screen. The stake per line can be set as low as 0.01 and as high as 50, making for a total maximum stake per spin of 500.00.

The spin button, a large green square with a circular arrow, lies to the right of the reels; one notable absentee is the provision of autospin. This means that the remaining two buttons, one purple one green, both provide paytable information. A haunting Middle Eastern soundtrack sets the flavour for the action that will commence the moment you spin the reels.

Three or More for a Win

In the base game, 3 or more symbols in a line will score a win. Blue diamonds are the most precious symbols, 5 of which are worth 250. That’s in the standard game; up your stake to enter the big bet game and the wild symbols will come into play. Painted a gaudy purple and gold, these will substitute for any of the regular playing symbols.

Special symbols come in the form of the mystic lamp, a flourish which is all very Aladdin. When the lamp appears on a reel it will change to reveal a mystery symbol. If there are multiple lamps in view, they will all be transformed into an identical symbol. Another major feature is Sheik Shake, in which that scamp of a sheik will appear and rock the reels. In doing so, he’ll generate a winning combo.

Big Bet Spins

The big bet game is entered when you commit to 5 linked spins of the reels. Because these wins are accumulative, you’ll be awarded any wins at the end of the fifth spin. The big bet spins can be set at 10, 15, 20 or 25 credits. In each case, the mystic lamp symbol, if it appears, will stay in place till all of the spins have been completed before revealing a mystery symbol.

The higher the amount of credits you’ve selected, the higher the value of the available symbols. With the maximum 25 credits enabled, for example, the playing card symbols are eliminated altogether. In the standard game, the gameplay in Sheik Yer Money is less than thrilling. With the big bet game entered into, however, the presence of the mystic lamps makes the whole affair much livelier and more exciting.

All in for Interest

Sheik Yer Money isn’t the most elegant slot you’ll ever encounter. Indeed, based on first impressions alone, it scores poorly. For all its clumsiness though, there are some neat features built in. The big bet game is where the money’s at; in the standard game, there’s simply not enough variety to retain your interest.

If you’re going to play Sheik Yer Money then, you need to be prepared to go all in. Otherwise, you’ll soon tire of this curious slot that doesn’t quite live up to its potential.