Zodiac Wheel Pokie
While many people believe that they can predict the future, or personality traits through the signs of the Zodiac, predicting that online pokie developer EGT would release a game based on the topic is much easier. It’s a popular theme that’s been covered by a number of other games and in the case of the Zodiac Wheel video pokie, it has been done with the style and sharp detail that EGT are known for.
It’s a 5-reel game, but unlike many themed pokies, it’s got just 5 paylines, which is far more common on traditional fruit-machines. All lines are fixed, so there’s a minimum stake of 5 coins needed to play for real money, while the high limit is for wagers of 100 coins. Prizes are paid when a payline has the same symbol on adjacent reels running from the left side, and the more of the line filled with it, the bigger the rewards.
Free Zodiac Wheel video pokies are available for practice games, but obviously there’s no real winnings from these and players will be missing out on bonus features such as wild substitutions, scatter payouts, the chance to double wins and even a progressive jackpot side game.
Zodiac Wheel
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Playing Zodiac Wheel
Many pokies have playing card symbols, but the ones in this game are highly stylised to the extent that it’s hard to see what they are at first, but once the eye is used to the swirly design, they become much clearer, and we can see that assuming a 1 coin per line bet, all the card symbols will return wins of 10, 30 or 100 coins when matching ones land on 3, 4 or 5 reels of a line.
The same combinations of the metal zodiac globe device will be worth 20, 50 or 200 coins, while an ornate telescope pays out 40, 100 or 500. A beautiful fortune teller lights up the reels with her lantern and also lights up the fortunes of players as she also pays out 40, 100 or 500 coins, but the top rewards are created by the astronomer, as he’s valued at 10 coins when landing on just the first 2 reels and a massive 3000 when he fills a line.
The game title comes from the wheel that contains all the signs of the zodiac and acts as a wild symbol, replacing any of those listed above to help complete winning combinations. It can fill in the gaps in a sequence, extend a win across additional reels or even do both at once, but it isn’t worth anything on its own.
Scatter Awards
There’s 2 scatter symbols, each of which works in a slightly different way. The leather-bound book is worth 15 coins when it stops in any 3 places, while 4 of them pay out 100 and the maximum of 5 will win 500 coins.
A map of the stars, complete with feather pen and a sextant is the second scatter in this game, and when it appears anywhere on reels 1, 3 and 5 at once, a flat payout of 100 coins is the result. There’s no free spins or other unique bonus features in this game, which is where there’s a clear similarity to classic fruit machines.
Other Features
That’s not to say that Zodiac Wheel is totally devoid of extras though, as there are a couple of bonus features that are found across the whole EGT range. If the Jackpot Cards round is awarded, which can happen randomly after any spin, players are taken to a second screen filled with 12 playing cards lying face down. By clicking a card, the suit is revealed and once 3 of the same are found, the related jackpot is won. They range in value, so players will be hoping to find 3 valuable Spades before they uncover the bottom Clubs.
Anytime a win is for less than 700 coins, it can be gambled, with players needing to predict if a card will be from a red or black suit, doubling the amount they just won if they get it right. They can either go on to try and double it again until the gamble limit is reached, or cash out at any stage, but a wrong pick along the way loses the lot, including the original win.
The Verdict
This pokie is quite unusual, as it has the 5 paylines and basic bonuses expected in a fruit machine, but the elaborate design that players would normally find in a more modern game. But it works well, so perhaps it’s surprising that more online casino pokies don’t follow this format, and maybe it’s written in the stars that they soon will.