Joker 2000 Slot Review

It might sound like the proposed title of an upcoming superhero movie but Joker 2000 is in reality an online slot from the team at Novomatic. It’s just as well, because you probably haven’t seen the first 1,999 solo Joker movies anyway, even if Hollywood movie executives are planning them before the first is cast. Despite associations with his comic book counterpart, the titular joker of this classic fruit machine is no maniacal madman, but instead the wild card and trickster gamblers love and know well.

In the Joker 2000 video slot the joker symbol really comes into play when the super game is activated, playing the role of superhero rather than super-villain, awarding punters with mystery prizes and hopefully giving them something to grin about. So you’d be right to think there’s nothing to fear about the Joker in this game: instead seek him out to win coins and prizes.

Fool Me Twice

The biggest laugh in the mobile-compatible Joker 2000 is that it is two games in one, with the punchline being that they are both the exact same game, or so nearly the same game you can’t tell the difference between the two. It’s a game of 5 paylines in a 3×3 configuration with each of the three horizontal lines constituting a win as well as the two diagonals. With every spin the winning configurations have the opportunity to throw up a winner if you can match 7s, bells or various fruits. Yes, this online slot is exactly like a mechanical fruit machine or one-armed bandit, and that is all it aspires to be.

In the basic game, each spin of the reels allows you the chance to win points which charge the super meter. When the super meter reaches 20 points or more the super game is activated. In this game the joker becomes a scatter symbol, and when two or more jokers appear on any of the 9 places you win a mystery prize. The mystery prize can be anything between 20 to 2,000 coins at best so even though it is a mystery prize of sorts it’s not exactly a complete mystery.

Getting the Gag

Another option is to choose to gamble your wins, and to do so in Joker 2000 you need to select between a red clover and a black horseshoe. It’s true that red clovers don’t exist in the wild, but neither do horseshoes, so that seems reasonable. If your gamble is correct your winnings double. If you don’t wish to be taxed by continually pressing the start button for each spin of the reels choose autostart. This lets the game play on autopilot while you simply watch the reels go round. The only downside of this is that it removes the fun element of choice in the gamble section of the game. There is something quite satisfying about the coin toss in this old-fashioned puggy.

If you love your slots with a little more of a nostalgic feel it is very safe to say that you have a wealth of options available online. The medium variance Reel King, also by Novomatic, has different game mechanics and a greater number of paylines and it very much fits into the simple reel category. Reel King utilises a 5×3 configuration and with 20 paylines you might recognise this game if you’ve ever played a fixed odds betting terminal in a bookmakers or a pub. If you’d much rather stick to a 3×3 slot with 5 paylines you should definitely try Ultra Hot which is very similar to Joker 2000 except in its theme.

Final Thoughts

Right at the centre of its jocular heart, Joker 2000 by Novomatic is a traditional fruit machine that you might expect to see in amusements, bars and pubs or on the gambling floor of a large casino. Although many punters have moved away from these classically designed slot machines in search of newer, flashier thrills, there is certainly something to be said for the charm of their forebearers. The gamble function of Joker 2000 is simple and yet strangely satisfying and the two games in one concept has a degree of merit to it as well. Yes, you may have seen it all before, but if people keep returning to the cinema to see superhero movies and remakes, why shouldn’t punters continue to play great new versions of the classics?