Big Top Pokie
Roll Up, Roll Up, to the Big Top, where you will see lots of thrilling action and be blown away by the excitement of the circus. Except you probably won't as we are talking about the Big Top pokie from Microgaming, and it's about as bare-bones as one of these games can get, with basically no special features whatsoever.
Now that's not necessariy the worst thing in the world, as lots of players like the simple, no-nonsense approach that has been popular since the early days of Poker machines, so we shouldn't be too critical, and as long as players know what type of game it's going to be before spending any cash on it, then it's a perfectly acceptable way to spend some time spinning the reels and looking for the big wins that can come from getting the right symbols in the right order.
Just don't wait for free spins, bonus games, wild multipliers or the like, because you are going to be waiting a long time. Forever actually, as there aren't any, (OK, there is a wild symbol and scatter wins, but that's your lot.)
Playing at the Big Top
While it may be pretty much devoid of extras, at least Big Top looks bright and colourful enough, with a variety of circus-related images decorating the 5 reels across 9 paylines.
To get going, players first need to decide how much they want to stake on a spin, and Big Top has a limited range of options, with as little as 0.01 being possible for a single coin on a single line, while betting the maximum amount will see just 4.50 placed on a spin.
That makes this game fine for low and mid-rollers, which accounts for the vast majority of players, but there's not much here for those looking to stake large sums, hoping for equally large rewards.
While the graphics may be a little old-school, at least they are colourful, bright, clear and appealing in design. A blue background with the top of the circus tent just visible, and some stripy support poles welcomes players to the reels, which have no less than 10 basic symbols.
Big Top
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Wins occur when identical symbols line up across any active payline from left to right, and the more of them there are, the bigger the rewards will be.
The obligatory 10 through to A high card symbols make up the lower-paying end of the scale, with 3, 4 or 5 of the '10' on a line being worth 10x, 25x and 100x the coin value, while moving up to the A brings in prizes of 25x, 50x and 150x respectively.
Looking at the picture symbols, you will see performing seals, an elephant on a bike, a slightly bonkers looking clown and the ringmaster, who in this case is a tiger. These characters are worth a prize when only 2 line up from the left hand reel, with the seal equalling wins from just 5 coins all the way up to 250 if a full line of 5 appears.
The ringmaster carries a value from 5x to 600x the coin value, but the biggest jackpot is reserved for the Big Top logo and should a full line of them appear right across the reels, then the maximum payout in this game of 5000 coins has been won.
Two fairly basic bonus symbols add just a splash of extra treats here, with another clown acting as a wild symbol. There's no reward when he lands on his own across a line, but he helps to bring in additional wins by substituting for all but the scatter to complete combinations of symbols.
Last but not least is the scatter symbol, represented by a mad looking monkey who doesn't have to be on a payline to treat players to a win. Just 2 scatters, anywhere on the reels will equal a reward, and in common with most other games, the amount paid out is a multiple of the total stake per spin, not the coin amount.
Just 2 scatters will bring in 2x the stake, and should 5 appear at once then it's worth 50x the amount wagered per spin.
Big Top or Big Flop?
Anyone approaching this game expecting all the bells and whistles of one of the more sophisticated pokies is going to be sadder than a clown who has run out of pies, but accept it for what it is, which is a colourful game that has a fun theme, and you will be as happy as an elephant with a new bike.