Microgaming Games of the Month: January to December 2018

Welcome to the third retrospective look back at the best games from Microgaming in each of the months from January 2018, through to December 2018, a period which saw a shift in focus for the Isle of Man based Microgaming, who moved from being a producer of their own slots in house, to outsourcing slots development to studios around the world.

In previous articles we have already taken a look at what were the best games of the month from January through to August 2020 and also from January to December 2019 as well as the best game of 2019. You can check out these articles in the links for more details on what we think were the best games in each of these months.

One thing to note is as we head back in time, there are some games from Microgaming that are either now no longer available, or which the company has withdrawn. For example, the original Tarzan slot, which I thought was a fine game when it was released, has been removed from the Microgaming catalogue recently, to coincide with the release of the new Tarzan Jewels of Opar slot that hit casinos this week.

Note: Where a game is no longer available, we will make this clear in the text of the review.

Let's now take a look at the ranking system we use for games to rate them.

Our ranking system

As we review each of the games released by Microgaming, we give them a rating based on all the different aspects of the game and the rating system is outlined below.

• 95% - 100% A Confirmed Slots Classic
• 85% - 95% Outstanding
• 75% - 85% Excellent
• 65% - 75% Very Good
• 55% - 65% Good
• 45% - 55% Average
• 35% - 45% Below Average
• 25% - 35% Disappointing
• 15% - 25% Very Disappointing
• 0%-15% Terrible

To allow for greater differentiation between games, we also go to one decimal place for each game review (so a game will score something like 93.5% if it is a great game, whereas a poor game will score usually around the 50.0% or lower mark).

Let's now take a closer look at 2018, which started off somewhat slowly in terms of game releases, but saw a gradual increase in number of games released as Microgaming's partnership deals began to see the first games from these new studios hit casinos later in the year.

Microgaming Game of the Month - January 2018

There was not a huge amount of competition for the game of the Month in January 2018 as Microgaming only released the one game for that month, a trend that they would repeat also in February and March. However, that said the art-deco inspired Deco Diamonds proved to be a decent enough slot game as it featured 9 pay lines on the 5x3 reels and some intriguing graphics and retro-music. It may not have come out on top in other months, but given that it was the only release in January, there's not a huge amount of competition!

1. Deco Diamonds - 72.9% - Game of the Month

Microgaming Game of the Month - February 2018

As with January, we had just the one release in February 2018 from Microgaming but what a cracking game it was in the shape of the high variance 5x3 reel slot, Lucky Little Gods. Based on a Chinese New Year theme, the slot was the big release from the company in February and offered a potential jackpot of 130,000 coins.

1. Lucky Little Gods - 83.2% - Game of the Month

Microgaming Game of the Month - March 2018

March was an important month for Microgaming as it saw the release of one of the first games from the partner studios that Microgaming were doing deals with to produce slots exclusively for the company. That game was March's only release and it was Triple Edge Studio's first release for the company, Playboy Gold. This 6x10 reel slot offered something very different to the usual type of game and its use of Jumbo Blocks across the reels meant some very big wins were possible. It was a very impressive start from the company and it would be the first of a significant number of releases from affiliate studios in the coming years.

1. Playboy Gold - 87.6% - Game of the Month

Microgaming Game of the Month - April 2018

April was the first month of 2018 that saw two new game released hit casinos from Microgaming, although it is fair to say that neither of the releases will live particularly long in the memory. First up was the Dream Date slot, which was based on a dating theme and offered 243-ways to win as well as a Free Spins bonus round of up to 16 Free Spins and a chance to win up to 1,800x your bet.

The other release in this month was the Diamond Empire slot, the second release from Triple Edge Gaming. It had an Art Nouveau theme and was a 3 reel slot offering 15 pay lines with no Free Spins bonus but a chance to win up to 4x the standard win using Wild Multipliers and also a Bonus Wheel game where you could win up to 888x your stake.

Both games were pretty uninspiring this month, but probably Diamond Empire just shaded the honours.

1. Diamond Empire - 67.4% - Game of the Month
2. Dream Date - 64.8%

Microgaming Game of the Month - May 2018

May was an unusual month as we saw two releases from Just For The Win, both with a historic theme, as well as a very unusual and simple novelty game from Microgaming that was very. Very different to their usual slots output.

Once again, the quality of games on offer this month wasn't as high as had been seen in other months with the first release Temple of Tut seeing a 5x3 reel, 10 pay line offering the chance to win up to 30 Free Spins (increasing up to 60 if you get lucky) and with Super Reels with Super Stacks of Wilds on them.

The 5x3 reel Amazing Aztecs slot was next which featured 243 Ways to Win and was playable from 10p to £100 per spin and with a relatively small top jackpot prize of 824x your stake. The Giant Respin was the only bonus feature on the slot, featuring an array of Jumbo Symbols on the reels..

Lastly, the unusual Poke The Guy game hit casinos this month too, a strange game where you catapult various items in an attempt to hit a rampaging monkey and claim a cash prize when you do. It was a very simple, perhaps too simple game and in truth, it only had limited appeal.

1. Amazing Aztecs - 62.3% - Game of the Month
2. Temple of Tut - 56.3%
3. Poke the Guy - 47.2%

Microgaming Game of the Month - June 2018

There was no doubt which was the best game in June 2018 from the two released that month and it was the first from a new partner studio, Stormcraft. The game was the eagerly awaited Steampunk-inspired Fortunium slot, which has recently seen the sequel Fortunium Gold Mega Moolah released as part of the Mega Moolah progressive network. Previewed at ICE 2018 earlier in the year, the new game was a smash hit success and was an outstanding start to the partnership deal for Stormcraft thanks to its unusual 5x5 reel, 40 line set up and its fine bonus features including a Win Booster option and the inclusion of Mystery Symbols and Mystery Reels in its Free Spins bonus.

The other release this month was the 243 Ways to Win Wild Scarabs slot from Microgaming which featured the chance to win up to 10 Free Spins with Wilds, Random Wilds and Stashed Wilds features used to liven up the action.

1. Fortunium - 90.2% - Game of the Month
2. Wild Scarabs - 67.9%

Microgaming Game of the Month - July 2018

There may only have been one game released in July 2018, but it was an absolute corker of game. Rabcat released their Robin of Sherwood slot. This 243 Ways to Win game featured a Free Spins round that saw one of the lower value symbols removed on each consecutive Free Spin bonus, as well as a Transforming Wild bonus which turned lower value symbols into Wilds when it triggered at random in the base game. With fantastic 3d effects, the slot was certainly one of the most eye-catching ones released in 2018.

1. Robin of Sherwood - 88.9% - Game of the Month

Microgaming Game of the Month - August 2018

We saw just three released in August 2018 and one of those games was a reworked and improved re-release of an older game in the shape of the Dolphin Coast slot, which had the main selling point of being a 3,125 Ways to Win slot game. This was followed by the rather nicely realised Exotic Cats slot game, which is self-evident as to what it is about but the best game of the month was saved until last with the release of the Rainbrew slot, which saw Horizontal Reels incorporated into the game in what was a new and exciting feature.

1. Rainbrew - 82.4% - Game of the Month
2. Exotic Cats - 68.3%
3. Dolphin Coast (re-release) - 64.2%

Microgaming Game of the Month - September 2018

The mantra of quality not quantity was the byword for Microgaming in September 2018 with just two games released during the month, although both were of a very high quality. The first was the Sidewinder slot, which reused the same Horizontal Reels mechanic from the Rainbrew slot last month but gave it a slightly different twist while the second and best game of the month for me was the excellent and atmospheric Wicked Tales Dark Red slot from Triple Edge Studios which featured moving reels and Jumbo Symbols on those reels.

1. Wicked Tales Dark Red - 86.9% - Game of the Month
2. Sidewinder - 82.3%

Microgaming Game of the Month - October 2018

October 2018 saw a trio of releases over the course of the month, including the eagerly awaited Cash of Kingdoms slot by Slingshot Studios, which players had had to wait since February to enjoy after it was heavily featured at the ICE 2018 event. For me though it was not the best title released this month, neither was the second game released which was Fortune Factory's Russian Royal Family themed slot Romanov Riches. That title instead went to the Mexican wrestling themed Lucha Legends slot which offered some fantastic and unusual bonus features.

1. Lucha Legends - 80.3% - Game of the Month
2. Cash of Kingdons - 73.2%
3. Romanov Riches - 71.9%

Microgaming Game of the Month - November 2018

November was a bumper month for releases from Microgaming in 2018 with two table games being released alongside four brand new slot games in what proved to be a very good month for games. It started with the Just For The Win slot Reel Talent and then following on from that was the eye-catching Crystal Rift slot from Rabcat and another space-age game in Astro Legends - Lyra and Erion which offered a rare Cluster Wins option for players to enjoy.

We then saw the first of the table games released in the shape of the All Aces Poker game, which was followed at the end of the month by American Roulette by Switch Studios. In between the two the Icy Gems slot also hit casinos and proved to be a real success. However in what was a busy month of high quality releases, there was one slot that stood out from the crowd for us.

1. Astro Legends Lyra & Erion - 87.9% - Game of the Month
2. American Roulette - 87.5%
3. Crystal Rift - 86.6%
4. Reel Talent - 78.7%
5. Icy Gems - 78.3%
6. All Aces Poker - 67.3%

Microgaming Game of the Month - December 2018

After a busy November of releases we saw a pared back month in December with just three releases hitting casinos, but it has to be said that each of the three games released this month were of the highest quality and either would have made a fitting choice for game of the month in many of the other months of the year.

First up was Fortune Factory's latest release, the 5x3 reel, 15 line Showdown Saloon slot that featured up to 15 Free Spins, as well as respins, mystery symbols and even Mystery Reels as part of the game. This was then followed by the equally impressive Triple Edge Studios release Action Ops Snow and Sable which was another beautiful looking game that featured Expanding Symbols, additional Wilds, plus up to 20 Free Spins available to be won.

The last release of the year was the equally excellent Book of Oz Respins slot also from Triple Edge which saw the Respins bonus included on the game and which offered potentially unlimited Free Spins, Expanding Symbols on the reels and a Wild Scatter to give you access to the main bonus features of the game. December 2018 was a high-quality way to end the year but one game for us just pipped the others to the game of the month title.

1. Action Ops Snow and Sable - 85.3% - Game of the Month
2. Showdown Saloon - 82.2%
3. Book of Oz Respins - 81.5%

Remember to check back again shortly when we will be heading back to 2017 and bringing you our selection for game of the month from Microgaming across that particular year.