Fisticuffs Pokie Machine
Set in an old-fashioned boxing ring, where gentlemen dressed in bowler hats and stripy tops fought for honour and not because satellite TV deals were worth a fortune, the Fisticuffs video pokie from Net Ent is a fun cartoon-style game that has some in-game bonuses to help players get through the rounds. With 5 reels and 10 paylines, it’s a well-designed game that comes from one of the most popular developers, although anyone used to playing Net Ent pokies online will see that the style is quite different from most games in their range.
It’s got items such as spit buckets, a stool (the type you sit on of course), boxing gloves and a bell making up the lower value winlines when 3 or more of the same type stop across a line on connected reels from the left or the right sides, while the boxers themselves are wild symbols that can punch each other across the reels to form extra wins and trigger free re-spins.
With all lines permanently activated, there’s a minimum stake of 0.10 per spin, although Net Ent have thoughtfully provided free Fisticuffs video pokies for those who want to practice before entering the ring for real cash, while the high limit that can be staked is set at 200.00.
Playing Fisticuffs
All symbols are directly linked to the theme of boxing and the reels spin against a backdrop of the ring and a seating area in what looks like a dark circus tent, which adds to the atmosphere. The smallest payouts come when the spit bucket or a boxing shoe land on 3, 4 or 5 reels on a line, with players winning 5, 20 or 50x the line bet respectively.
The stool and bell are each valued at 5, 20 or 60x and the gloves pay up to 150x when landing right across a payline. A trophy is worth a little more, but the top wins come from the championship belt which punches above its weight by awarding victors with 20, 120 or a nice 500x the line bet when it stops on 3, 4 or 5 reels.
But it’s the boxers that players will be looking out for, as these fine fellows bring the game to life with some fun animations and rewarding bonus features.
Fisticuffs
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Wild Features
The big guy in a bowler hat is called a straight wild and he will land on reel 3 only, substituting for all symbols which can complete a winning combination by extending a run of 2 matching symbols onto the third reel, or filling in the gaps in a sequence. A skinny boxer with a fantastic moustache is a diagonal wild who will only appear on reels 2 and 4, also helping to complete winlines when he does so by acting as any other symbol.
If they both appear on the reels at the same time, the main bonus bout is triggered and the reasons for the different names becomes clearer. Whenever the straight wild and diagonal wild are on the same row, the straight punches the diagonal from either reel 2 to reel 1, or from reel 4 to reel 5, creating a row of 3 wilds in total, which should be enough to complete a winning line, especially as combinations can be formed from either side of the game. It’s possible for 2 diagonals to appear at the same time, which means he gets knocked to both ends of the reels and there’s a complete run of wilds.
If they both turn up, but are not on the same row, the diagonal wild gets the upper hand and punches the straight, transforming a symbol above or below him into an extra wild. Whatever happens, all these extra wild symbols stay in place while all other positions on the reels spin once more, giving players a further opportunity to land some decent wins. This task is helped even further by stacked wilds that can appear on reels 1 and 5 during the re-spin.
The Verdict
Fisticuffs is a great-looking online casino game that delivers some knockout extras. Although it doesn’t come with a separate free spins round, the unique wilds and reel re-spins will make up for this and the animations that precede them are a real highlight. There’s a jingly music-hall soundtrack to accompany the action on the reels, and while it’s initially fun to listen to, there’s going to be quite a few players clicking the Mute button after a while.
Other than the tunes, there isn’t much that can be criticised about the Fisticuffs video pokie, other than the fact that like many games from Net Ent it isn’t mobile-optimised.