Red Baron Pokie
Pokies are often built around a core theme – Ancient Egypt, Mount Vesuvius, Persia – but as far as we know, Red Baron is the only title based on the exploits of a storied German fighter pilot.
The eponymous Red Baron was Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen, and he was one of the most daring airmen to serve in the German Army Air Services during World War I. In fact, he recorded 80 air combat victories before his triplane was shot down over northern France in 1918.
You might not know a lot about Von Richthofen, but you don’t need to in order to play Red Baron. When it comes right down to it, all you need to know is that this is a 5-reel game that offers 243 ways to win. Yes, the entire board is active.
Marketed by Aussie games outfit Aristocrat, Red Baron features icons that are clear and crisp and relevant in their design. The historic symbols include Zeppelins, wireless radios, von Richthofen’s famous red Albatross plane, cross-hairs, the Red Baron himself and also Prussian Iron Cross medals. There are also symbols of a dog, a girl and the usual high-denomination playing cards. The action plays out against the backdrop of a bright blue sky, pockmarked by wispy white clouds.
Lock and Load
The Red Baron pokie stays true to the Great War era, and the effect is augmented by the inclusion of sound effects and animations. The graphics are solid, and there’s a certain authenticity about the game that a great many rush-released titles seem to lack.
Red Baron
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Before you play, you’ll need to know about the wild and scatter symbols. In Red Baron, the aforementioned medal acts as the wild; it appears exclusively on reel three and players can deploy it as a stand-in for the scatter. The scatter is the red, white and black cross-hair symbol and appears on reels two, three and four.
Many punters love pokies with 243 ways to win, but some don’t. If you want to scale back, you can elect to play with four reels (81 ways to win), three reels (27 ways to win), two reels (nine ways to win) or even one reel (three ways to win). Either way, the minimum coin bet is 0.01, and the maximum is five on each reel. If you’re a high roller, you can bet as high as $125. The total coin jackpot, meanwhile, is 7,500 – yielding a maximum win of $37,500.
Shooting for Bonuses
Whatever pay-line configuration you choose, you’ll be aiming to land three scatter symbols to trigger the free spins bonus feature. Hit three cross-hairs and you’ll be awarded with 15 free spins. What’s more, you’ll be shown a new screen which lets you choose from a panel containing five missions. Channel the Red Baron himself and choose a mission that reflects your sense of risk. Each mission has a different number of airplanes, and a multiplier attached. Essentially you have to estimate how many planes will appear during the ensuing round. The more planes you take on, the greater the multiplier. Missions vary, from 4+ planes with a multiplier of 10x to 20+ planes with an eye-watering multiplier of 140x.
Incidentally, any wins that involve a wild – the medal symbol, in case you forgot – will be multiplied by two, three or five. Wins, however modest or epic, can also be doubled or even quadrupled if you hit the Gamble button below the reels. All you have to do is guess the colour or suit of the next card to be drawn from the deck. If you’re extremely lucky, you’ll guess correctly five times on the bounce – but at that point the game accepts defeat and suspends the gambling. They just can’t stand losing, can they?!
Behold the Iron Cross
Hitting scatters to activate the volatile bonus round is a sure way of spicing things up. Another is to use the Iron Cross wild to make up a winning combination. Such a win triggers a free round with an 8x multiplier.
Red Hot?
Red Baron is a cool game that is innovative in a couple of ways. Number one, it offers 243 ways to win – if you so desire – but number two, its edgy bonus round lets you play on your own confidence and choose a mission (and thus, a jackpot) you feel you can complete. Given the multipliers, you can certainly fatten your bankroll during free spins. High-rolling pokie enthusiasts should consider plotting a course for this absorbing game.