Bullseye Pokie Machine
Take a nostalgic trip back to the 1980’s with Microgaming’s Bullseye Poker machine that’s based around the classic darts-related British TV show hosted by Jim Bowen from 1981 until 1995. Featuring iconic images from the programme including the mascot called Bully, this game has 5 reels and the 243 Ways to Win payout system that leads to lots of smaller payouts as symbols line up on adjacent reels.
Coming from Microgaming means that this Poker machine has fair play guaranteed, while it can be accessed on desktop PC’s or mobile devices alike, with no download required.
A Bit of Bully for You?
The design of this game will either appeal to those who remember the show and like the ‘80’s look, or turn them off completely. Made to look a little like the set did, with a backdrop of Bully and bright neon at the top and bottom of the reels, the theme is emphasised by the wire frame that copies the framework of a real dartboard.
Love it or not, it’s clear, well rendered and the animations are smooth, although the theme tune that’s constantly playing in the background could get a bit tedious.
As for the actual layout, the 243 Ways to Win that features on so many Microgaming pokies means that there are no conventional paylines and players win any time identical symbols land on adjacent reels, starting from reel 1 on the far left.
So there’s no decisions on how many lines to activate, and all that’s left for players to choose is how much to place per spin, with anything from 0.30 to 15.00 being acceptable. A look at the paytable is also advised, so that what can be won for which combinations of symbols is understood before playing.
Items from the show are prominent, with Jim Bowen’s distinctive glasses, a tankard, cash and of course darts being some of the lower-paying symbols, and the more rewarding ones include some of the fabulous prizes that contestants could walk away with, like a caravan, speedboat and a typically 1980’s-looking car.
Payouts are expressed as the amount shown on the paytable, multiplied by the number of coins bet, with anything up to 350x the coin value to be won when the speedboat runs across all 5 reels.
Bullseye
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Bully’s Bonuses
Bully himself is a wild symbol, replacing others to complete lines, so if players land the car oreels 1, 2, 4 and 5 for example and Bully is on reel 3, it counts as a full line for a 200x prize. Bully also appears stacked on the reels, so he could in theory complete several winning lines at once.
There are a couple of bonus rounds as well, starting with a free spins game that get triggered when the relevant scatter symbol turns up. The scatter pays out 5x, 10x or 100x the total bet amount when 3, 4, or 5 of them land at once in any positions, while 15 free games then commence, with all winnings tripled in value while they are running.
Free spins can be re-triggered by more scatters, with the extra games tacked on to the end of any that are left to run from the current round.
The other bonus round is of course, darts related. The dartboard bonus symbol landing on reels 1 and 5 at the same time triggers the game which takes place on a second screen where players simply need to pick 5 of the 8 numbers on the board.
Darts are then thrown at the selected spots, adding up prizes as they hit their targets which can be between 2x and 15x the bet amount.
Bully or Just Bull?
Fans of the show will enjoy seeing Bully back on their screens, even if it’s not quite in the format that they remember. The retro design certainly makes a nice reminder of the 1980’s and for anyone who hasn’t seen it, or just didn’t get the point of the programme, Bullseye is a perfectly decent game, although there’s nothing outstanding about it.
Your opinion of darts also counts as well, with many potential players put off by watching tournaments on TV that are seemingly populated by what overweight and inebriated ‘sportsmen’, but it’s a hugely popular pastime and Bullseye was one of the most widely viewed shows of it’s time.
Still, whatever you think of darts, stacked wilds, a free spins round with multiplier wins and a bonus game are perfectly good extras which shouldn’t be ignored.