Nowadays, five reel pokies are the most common and popular type of online pokie format at all Web casinos. Classic style slots, MegeSpin slots, ways and payline video slots and 3D animation slots are most often 5-reel games. At land-based casinos, 5-reel games are also the most prominent style of slot machine. With more advanced graphics, better interactivity and more chance for a player to spin a winning combo, five reel slot titles have overtaken their 3-reel counterpart.
History of the 5-Reel Slot Machine
Interestingly, it was Sittman and Pitt who developed what is considered the first genuine gaming machine in 1891 – and it is this machine which was the inspiration to Charles Fey’s 1895 machine, and the original precursor to the modern slot machine.
Sittman and Pitt’s machine had five reels and one row, and was made up of five drums holding 50 different card symbols that spun (based on poker) – player put in a nickel to pull the lever, and if a distinct poker hand lined up, you won a prize of some sort – this machine didn’t actually have any payout cash prizes, but instead awarded things like free beers, cigars or whatever else the bar/pub felt like handing out.
Fey’s automatic slots machine (what is considered the first true slot machine as it had an effective automatic payout mechanism when a winning combination was spun) had three reels rather than five. In 1975, the first 5-reel video slots were introduced to Nevada – those where the reels were powered by electronic technology through video screens. Online 5-reel pokies games have been around since the 1990s and now new, more advanced and innovative games are constantly being created.
Five Reel Pokies Game Features
Most new and interactive video slots games are now created with five reels. In general, 3-reel slots are often built in a more traditional, old-school style like the ‘fruit machine slot’ style to reflect the original slot machines.
Clearly, there are more symbols to a five-reel game and more possible winning combinations. The number of winning paylines vary from game to game but five-reel pokies typically have more than three-reel slots. Five reel games often come with additional bonus games which add ample entertainment value and give the player the chance to multiply winnings, earn free spins and win bonus cash.
Five-reel online slots are now developed with intricate storylines to follow, and players are taken on journeys which can often resemble the experience of modern-day video games.
Best 5-Reel Online Slots
We have scoured the Internet and examined the most reputable Web casinos for our favourite 5-reel pokies. Note all the casinos these games are available at are regulated and trustworthy should you want to play for AUD real money. You can also play the titles in free play mode.
South Park: Reel Chaos
South Park fanatics will be thrilled by this 5-reel, 3-row slots game with 20 paylines (also referred to as bet lines). It features the usual gang, all dressed as superheroes. Each of the main characters unlock exciting bonus rounds, and this can occur randomly at any time during the main game.
Cartmen will randomly create a reel of stacked Wilds (which will then be replaced by other icons to build the highest possible winning combination). Kenny fights with the professor, and depending on how he travels, you can have your last win multiplied by x3, x4 or x5. Stan earns you a winning re-spin where the wheels will continue to spin for free until you hit a win (your win is double what it would be in the main game). Kyle will get rid of the evil minion icons and replace them with Wild icons, which provide additional winning combos. Three Mintberry Crunch icons will win you a round of free spins – the number of free spins depends on how many Mintberry Crunch icons are spun. South Park Reel Chaos is available to play at G’day Casino.
Jurassic Park Slot
This 5-reel, 3-row slots draws real clips from the Steven Spielberg’s 1993 blockbuster film, and includes the movie’s gripping soundtrack and of course, the main protagonists and dinosaurs as symbols. Three T-Rex dinosaurs stacked, three Velociraptors stacked, three trice raptors or three brachiosauruses will all win you 12 free spins, with each dinosaur offering slightly different bonus features with the free spins, such as multiplier wilds and split wilds and wilds being replaced with other icons on non-winning spins. Every time you trigger a free spin mode, this is noted, and after 25 free spins you get to choose a multiplier that lasts for the rest of your playing time on the Jurassic Park game. Jurassic Park is available to play at Casino-Mate.
Net Entertainment’s Mega Fortune
Mega Fortune is a glamorous 5-reel progressive jackpot pokies game with 20 paylines. You can play Mega Fortune at G’day Casino and Guts Casino. Three or more champagne symbols activate a round of free spins, and if you spin more than three champagne icons across the reels, you will also gain a multiplier for your winnings until the free spins come to an end. The Boat symbol is the wild symbol in this game and will substitute for other symbols for a second shot at a winning combination. Mae your way to the bonus wheel for a shot at the massive progressive jackpot.
The BooManji Pokie
BooManji is a 5-reel, 3-row fireworks-themed slots game with 10 paylines. In BooManji, the crate filled with fireworks acts as the wild symbol. If the wild symbol appears on reels 2, 3 or 4, you’ll be paid out with a shot at additional winning combinations. If it appears on reels 1 or 5, you will get a free re-spin. Any wild icons that appear during a free spin round will trigger more free spins. This game has incredible graphics with 3D animation rendered images. It’s aesthetically pleasing and is a fun and rewarding 5-reel slots game. BooManji is available at Guts Casino.
Loaded
This five reel gangster-themed slot is bright with cartoon icons and has 25 bet lines. The rapper mic icon unlocks free spins (five mic icons on your reels, you get 100 free spins). Whenever you win rounds of free spins, you have the option of trading in some of those spins for a multiplier during the free spins mode. For example, instead of having 20 free spins, you can opt for 12 free spins with a x4 multiplier activated.
The Triple 7 rapper icon acts as a wild symbol and substitute for all other icons to boost your payouts. Any winnings that result from the Triple 7 rapper being replaced will be multiplied by three. Spin a winning combo and you can activate the Gamble Feature – chance your winnings from the last spin to double or quadruple them for as long as you are successful in the gamble game (50/50 odds to double your cash, 1/4 chance to quadruple your winnings). Loaded slots is available at Royal Vegas Casino and 7Sultans Casino.
Five-reel slots are loaded with great bonus features, graphics and storylines, and with online gaming developing companies continuing to better their software, we can expect to continue to see vastly improved titles over the next months.