You Lucky Bastard Pokie Machine
An online pokie with a name like this can only mean one thing. Yes, it’s covered in the Bar symbols that line up across the 3 reels to create winning combinations. What else could it be referring to?
It’s clearly a fun game that doesn’t take anything too seriously, but there’s still some fairly serious cash to be won, with a 100x the bet amount jackpot in the main game and plenty of chances to pick up some prizes lower down the payscale as well.
Like many pokies from Microgaming, it’s a fairly straightforward 3-reel machine that isn’t exactly overflowing with bonus features, but neither is it completely devoid of them either. We have randomly triggered nudges and holds, the guaranteed winning spins of the Shifta feature and a side game where players try to get to the top of a bonus ladder to pick up some big prizes along the way.
It’s all done in the style of a game show, with a smarmy host encouraging players to spin the reels and go for the big payouts on offer.
You Lucky Bastard
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A bright blue backdrop to the reels, with our smiling host beneath them greets players when they open the game up. The reels themselves take up the middle of the screen with the nudge game to the left and a payout table to the right.
Below the main portion of the game is the control panel which can be used to adjust the amount bet per spin from 0.10 to 10.00, so this is a game that high rollers are unlikely to be interested in. But for the rest of us, it’s a decent range and as there is just the single payline, there’s no need to decide how many of them to activate, with all players then need to do is click to spin the reels.
The payout table is, perhaps unsurprisingly, dominated by Bar symbols with the yellow bar being the least valuable and paying out 2x the bet amount when landing right across all 3 reels on the payline.
Next up is a red bar that’s worth 4x the bet, while any combination of the single, double and triple black bars landing across the line will be worth 8x.
Then we come to the black bars on their own, with the single bar symbol paying out 10x the bet, while the double is worth 16x. The triple bar icon however, is the jackpot symbol of the main game, being worth a huge 100x the amount wagered per spin.
During basic play, there are a couple of random bonuses that players can benefit from, such as nudges, where they can move a reel up or down a bit to try and make up a winning combination. It’s also possible to gamble the nudge for a bigger win, repeat them again, or bank them for use on the next spin.
Holds are also randomly awarded and these allow players to spin 2 reels and keep a selected one in place for another chance at making up a line of symbols.
The display above the reels can indicate that the Shifta feature has been triggered. All that’s needed is for players to spin the reels and a winning combination will land for them.
However, the main bonus round here is triggered when 3 consecutive black bar wins occur. This opens up a second screen where the gameshow host is standing next to a cash ladder with 7 levels to it.
The aim is to click the Yes or No buttons to the sides of the ladder and move up to claim bigger and bigger multiplier prizes. Players who get right to the top without clicking the wrong button will win 250x their stake, which at the maximum bet is a nice 2,500.00 to add to their bankrolls.
The Verdict
A fun title and enjoyable theme, along with some reasonable, if not spectacular, prizes makes You Lucky Barstard a pleasing all-rounder.
Microgaming are famed for the quality of their pokies and this one is no exception, although it’s not perfect. The main issue is the relatively small jackpot of 100x the bet amount in the base game, which even for players wagering the full 10.00 per spin is only 1,000.00, pretty small in comparison to similar pokies.
That 10.00 maximum bet is the other minor issue, as it’s going to put off a lot of potential players who like to make bigger gambles, but if it’s not a problem, then You Lucky Barstard is a good pokie to try out.