777 Royal Wheel slot offers a Wild Wheel bonus feature plus free Respins

Think of a typical game show from the 1970s, such as Sale of the Century and what do you think of? Very glitzy presentation, a heavy jazz-oriented soundtrack, a jeopardy/luck style element to the game? Well, all that and more is present in the retro-styled 777 Royal Wheel slot game from Pulse 8 Studios, part of their exclusive content supply deal with Microgaming.

A 5x3 reel slot playable from 0.25 per spin, the game is somewhat different to many other similar styled slots as it does not feature Free Spins, a brave move if you ask me, but instead has a couple of other bonuses in play, Respins and the Wild Wheel bonus.

So if you love the feel of a 1970s game show and want to tap your foot along to the soundtrack as you play, let's take a closer look now at what the 777 Royal Wheel slot has to offer.

Overview

• Game: 777 Royal Wheel Slot
• Developer: Pulse 8 Studios (for Microgaming)
• Reels: 5x3
• Pay Lines: 25 (non-selectable)
• Minimum Bet: 0.25
• Maximum Bet: 15.00
• Jackpot: £47,000
• Free Spins Bonus: No
• Other Bonuses: Yes
• Progressive: No
• Volatility: High

Presentation

I don't know whether it is just me, but the 777 Royal Wheel slot seems to have a very retro 1970s game show feel running through it as its main theme. From a rather jazzy soundtrack, which is heavy on the organ and brass, to the look and presentation of the game, the whole look and ambiance of the slot looks like it could be taken from a game show presented by Bruce Forsythe.

There is a stated jackpot prize of £47,000 (or the equivalent in your currency) in the game and that is linked in with the Wild Multipliers (more on them later). This is displayed on the left of the reels, with the Wild Wheel information on the right. The main controls of the slot are listed at the bottom of the reels, with the 5x3 reel set in the middle of the screen.

At the top of the reels is the Wild Wheel which the game is named after and a pointer. This is one of the key features in the slot and we will explore more about this below. The game is a 5x3 reel game, with 25 pay lines in play, with spins starting at 0.25 per spin and you can increase that up to 15.00 per spin for higher rollers. It is a high variance game though, so do remember that when setting your bet size.

Overall, Pulse 8 Studios have done a nice, clean and crisp job with how the slot is presented.

What is on the reels?

In the standard base game, there are a total of 11 different symbols on the reels and these begin with the playing card symbols. There are five of these, ranging from the ten through to the Ace and the amount you can win ranges from 1/5 of your bet up to 1.8x your bet on a single pay line for five of the aces across the reels.

The higher value symbols on the reels include a single bar, a double bar, a single 7 a double 7 and a triple seven. Unfortunately, you cannot combine bars or sevens with similar symbols to get a smaller value win, so you need to hit the same symbol to trigger a win. These higher value symbols have wins ranging from 0.4x your bet to 3x your bet.

One of the things that makes this a somewhat volatile slot is that the symbols are not stacked on the reels, so you tend to only win across one pay line (unless you can trigger two or more lines of the same symbols on a spin). However, to help you land wins there are some additional symbols and some bonus features to access on the game which we will look at in more detail below.

Wild features

There is a standard Wild on the reels and this is the crown symbol. This can be used as a substitute for any of the standard symbols outlined above, but it can also be landed across the reels itself and when it is, it offers the highest value wins in the base game, ranging from 0.5x your bet up to 6x your bet.

However, a feature of the game which can have a huge impact on how much you can win is the Wild Wheel. This bonus can trigger at random during the base game and when it does, the Wild Wheel will spin and will select a symbol. That symbol will then transform into a Wild Multiplier symbol for the remainder of your bonus spins.

You can land a multiplier of between 2x and 24x the standard win amount with this bonus feature and you can increase the size of the multiplier earned by collecting more Wild Multipliers during the bonus round. If you do, then the final multiplier applied to any wins will increase.

Free Spins features

The 777 Royal Wheel slot does not offer a dedicated Free Spins bonus round. Instead, each time you land a win in the base game, you are given one free Respin of the reels. The winning symbols are held in place on the reels and the symbols not part of the win are spun once again. If you can add another symbol to those collected, then you will be granted a second respin to see if you can increase that win across all five reels. If your respin however does not add to your win, then the bonus ends and you are paid out what you have won.

Best feature of the 777 Royal Wheel slot

It is quite a brave decision by Pulse 8 Studios to create a game that does not have a Free Spins bonus round in it, especially when the game plays like so many other 5x3 reel slots that do, but I think the Wild Wheel addition to the slot works very well. It adds a different level of complexity to the game and I think feels a little more accessible than the Free Spins bonus games. However, you do have to be patient at times for the bonus to trigger and the amount you can win on the bonus games can vary tremendously. The Respin bonus is a decent feature too, but that also has very variable payouts and often you will get a respin and not increase the value of your win any.

Conclusion

The 777 Royal Wheel slot is an interesting new take on what is now pretty much the standard format of slot, a 5x3 reel game. The Wild Wheel and Respin bonuses do give this game a very different feel compared to your typical Free Spins slot and if you want a change of pace from that, or you enjoy particularly high variance slot games, then this is a game that you will definitely like. For me, I just feel that the very volatile nature of this slot and the fact that there are no Free Spins bonus games will make it less appealing to medium to lower stakes players and that could be an issue. It's a brave move by Pulse 8 Studios, but I feel had the game been playable from say 0.10 per spin, it would have had broader appeal.