Play classic slots at Pink Casino
For many spinners, it all started with classic slots. Also known as vintage slots or retro slots, classic slot machines offer nostalgia, clear-cut gameplay, and big-win potential. It’s why they remain popular in-house and in the form of classic online slots at Pink Casino! Here’s more on the best classic slots.
Classic Slots Appeal
Classic slots online owe much of their appeal to the retro theme and resemblance to the popular slots found in Las Vegas, arcade halls, and even pubs around the world. While there isn’t a strict set of rules to make an online slot fit the classic mould, there are many elements that lend games to being seen as retro slots.
Graphics
Classic slot games that you can sit at and spin usually have printed reels that spin around to deliver physical results. Online, designers attempt to replicate a similar aesthetic through much more toned-down graphics and a retro theme. Most will still boast modern 3D graphics, but animations and wild designs are often left out of classic online slots.
Symbols
Vintage slots are well-known for boasting the same symbols. In the UK, the prevalence of fruits to make up the low-paying – and sometimes the high-paying – symbols lent them the nickname “fruit machines.” Whether it’s at a venue or as classic online slots, spinners expect to see a selection of berries, cherries, grapes, lemons, melons, strawberries, plums, and perhaps even a raspberry or two. Along with the fruits, classic casino slots come with traditionally high-paying symbols that aren’t grown in an orchard. Golden bells are very popular, as are jokers, high-cards, bar, double bar, and triple bar symbols. Perhaps the best-known big-money symbol, however, is the seven.
Be it single, double, or triple sevens, the symbols usually mean big wins. Sometimes, the luck of the Irish is also thrown in with harps, horseshoes, and clovers.
Sounds
The sound of a crank to start a round, the rolling reels with accompanying anticipation-ramping tunes, thuds when symbols land and chimes when lines start to build, these all add to the experience.
This hasn’t been lost on classic casino games available online either, with most seeking to replicate the same sound formula as standing slot machines.
Features
Classic slot games rarely came with special feature symbols or bonus features, except the large slot machines or joint slot machines that grant passage to a large backboard jackpot trail. Still, on the reels, the printed symbols roll in, show your wins as they stand, and maybe trigger a chance at the jackpot run.
For classic online slots, developers would be forgiven for thinking that they had to adapt to infuse modern features, as that’s what’s expected of video slots.
Some include wild symbols, others a clear-cut bonus round, but most are reined in so that the theme of it being among vintage slots isn’t lost to crazy features.
Nostalgia
Standing retro slots earned their popularity through the tried-and-trusted designs and people's increased fondness for the themes and those that they found to be “loose.” Helping to ride this nostalgia into classic online slots, some providers have brought exact replicas of their vintage slots to the internet.
Simplicity
Perhaps the biggest feature that keeps classic casino slots popular online is the fact that they are simple. Often with a minimal number of slot paylines and three reels, you know exactly what you need without examining the paytable. Without complex bonus features and mostly just pays on reels, classic slots boast an appealing simplicity.
Classic Online Slots
Recognising the draw of classic slots, online game developers have created a massive range of games that deliver those retro sensations. Of them all – with more being added to the selection regularly – these stand out as the best classic slots casino games online.
Rainbow Riches
Rainbow Riches is the most famous of the classic online slots. From its vintage aesthetic to the distinct lack of symbols on the reels – five base game, four special – Barcrest has made one of the most endearing of classic slots online, with this original leading to a huge range of spinoffs and variations on the Rainbow Riches formula. It’s now the king of Irish-themed slots online.
In fairness, there’s a lot about Rainbow Riches that purists could point to as distinctly not classic. Rainbow Riches features a wild symbol, five reels, 20 paylines, and three features: Road to Riches, Wishing Well, and Pots of Gold. Still, the features are very clear-cut to earn and play, and the overall presentation of it fits well within the classic slots bracket.
Mega Joker
Mega Joker may look daunting at first to classic slots aficionados, but this game certainly sits among vintage slots at its core. First, you’ll notice its 40 paylines, five reels, and four rows, but as those win lines are adjustable, you can bring the count down to a much more retro number. Then, you’ll be spinning among classic slots favourites.
On the reels of Mega Joker, you’ll find cherries, melons, oranges, grapes, plums, pears, and strawberries, with sevens playing as the highest-paying standard symbol. There are a couple of feature symbols in this Novomatic game too, but not a bonus feature per se. The scatter star is the jackpot if five land anywhere on the reels, while the joker is high-paying and wild.
Reel King
As soon as you open the Reel King game, you know that you’re playing one of the best classic online slots. Seven base game symbols make up the paytable, including fruits and high-card symbols. The wild substitutes for all other symbols, and 20 paylines run across the five reels and three rows of Reel King. It has a special feature, but one that’s as straightforward as they come.
In true classic slots style, the only bonus feature of the Inspired Gaming slot doesn’t require any input. Reels have yellow strips in segments behind them. If the spin stops with all five reels being completely yellow behind the symbols, the reels ding and little Reel Kings fall down with mini reels to reveal wins from combinations of sevens.
Sizzling Hot
Sizzling Hot is so committed to its classic slots feel that you play the game on a virtual slot machine. Your buttons are at the base of the game in game machine button form, and you can clearly see the five paylines running across the three rows and five reels. Containing the game in this vintage slots cabinet was a smooth move by Greentube.
As most classic slots experience, the reels feature all the favourites. You’ll find cherries, lemons, oranges, plums, melons, and grapes as the lower-paying symbols. Cherries even pay for just two along a payline. Adding a bit more flame to the Sizzling Reels, scatter stars can generate a winning combination without being along paylines, and the big red seven plays as the highest-paying symbol by a large margin.
Book of Ra Deluxe
The ancient Egyptian theme has proven to be very popular in video slots, with Rich Wilde and the Book of Dead being the headline act. Offering a much more retro aesthetic is Book of Ra Deluxe from Greentube. It’s very similar to the smash-hit Play’n GO slot but has reeled in the bells and whistles to fit into the classic slots category, leaning into understated 3D animations for winning combinations and chiming reel spins.
The reels are loaded with jacks, queens, tens, kings, and aces alongside the ancient Egyptian symbols. You’ll find the scarab, statue of Ra, sarcophagus, and the intrepid explorer for higher-paying wins. Key to the game is the titular Book of Ra, which plays as the wild. In free spins, select symbols can expand to cover reels.
Vintage Slots Providers
Of course, conveniently having classic online slots ready to play at Pink Casino wouldn’t be possible without the providers dedicated to delivering retro slots. Here are the leading names when it comes to the biggest classic slots online today.
Barcrest
Barcrest is most famous for the creation and expansion of the Rainbow Riches classic slots franchise. Since the original launch in 2009, Pink Casino has welcomed another 13 games in the Rainbow Riches series, including Rainbow Riches: Pick’n’ Mix. If you don’t fancy a spin with the famous Leprechaun, though, Barcrest has many other classic slots like 7s On Fire and Action Bank ready for you to spin.
Novomatic
After a few deals to acquire certain studios, we now find three grand classic slots creators under the same banner. Greentube is a subsidiary of Novomatic, and Novomatic was acquired by Inspired Gaming. All three have created some popular classic slot games, including Book of Ra Deluxe (Greentube), Mega Joker (Novomatic), and Reel King (Inspired Gaming). These are all great beginner slots as well.
IGT
IGT have been in the game for a long time, with a lot of their online appeal coming from a dedication to Vegas-style classic slots. Much like Rainbow Riches for Barcrest, Da Vinci Diamonds is the big-hit franchise for IGT, with its classic slots range featuring many variants that expand on the original. They’re also known for video slots made in an older style, like the link between classic slots and modern creations, like Golden Goddess.
Microgaming
Microgaming is one of the most long-standing titans of iGaming and has historically been a patron of classic slots. They even created what is now the epitome of classic slots in progressive jackpot play, Mega Moolah.
Having brought a whole host of developers under their umbrella, Microgaming recently became a part of Games Global, but classic slots like Break Da Bank and Burning Desire are still available online today.
WMS
Another storied provider of online slots, WMS also isn’t afraid to jump back to the gaming’s roots by bringing classic slots to modern spinners. Best known for their Raging Rhino, Zeus, Kronos, Spartacus, and Bruce Lee slots, these games have essentially become classic casino slots in their own right.
As for the classic slots theme, WMS has brought us Aftershock, 2x Wild & Crazy, and The Wizard of Oz: Road to Emerald City. Note to Editor: These are the only WMS games that I could find that fit the classic slots mould, but I couldn’t find any via the Pink Casino search, so the highlighted line may need to be just removed.
Recent Slots with Retro Theme
It’s not just classic slots from standing machines or games made early in the days of video slots that make it into the retro ranks. Every year, there are new classic slots online released to appease spinners. These are some of the best recent vintage slots.
Diamond Strike
Diamond Strike may look flashy to be one of the classic slot games, but its dedication to 2D symbols, mild animations on wins, and classic symbols lend it to the classic slots library. The Pragmatic Play slot is loaded with fruits, bells, sevens, and diamonds but has a couple of more modern special features, like its free spins mode and jackpot mini-game.
Twin Spin
Brought to you by NetEnt, Twin Spin ticks the classic slots box for its bar, fruits, diamonds, and sevens symbols, while also fitting the theme category of retro slots with its neon glows and backing track. In this 243-ways slot, each spin starts with identical, adjacent, linked twin reels, which can lead to big payline combinations.
Dazzle Me
Taking a distinctly revamped form of a 3-3-4-4-5 layout with 76 paylines, Dazzle Me offers a welcomed bridge between classic slots and modern gameplay. On the reels of this NetEnt creation, you’ll find bells, gems, and sevens. Importantly, the free spins mode is rather minimalistic, requiring the free spins symbols to activate and coming with the linked reels feature.
Joker Pro
With a retro slots aesthetic and classic slots gameplay, Joker Pro will appeal to many who seek nostalgic slot spinning. The game’s loaded up with clovers, horseshoes, bells, bars, sevens, and diamonds across its five reels and ten paylines. The features are the re-spin and wild, nestling the NetEnt slot alongside fellow simplistic classic slots.
Reel Rush
Another from NetEnt, Reel Rush combines classic fruit symbols with the popular art style of certain smash-hit mobile games. Here, you’ll find cubed plums, melons, pineapples, strawberries, grapes, and lemons. It proved popular enough that there’s now Reel Rush 2, which leans into a power-up bar and many randomised features.
Fire Joker
Perhaps the most popular of all classic slots over the last few years, Fire Joker from Play’n Go gives you three reels, three rows, and a market’s worth of fruit symbols to land. There are Xs, cherries, lemons, grapes, bars, stars, and sevens. If you and a joker, it plays as a wild across the five paylines, and if the reels get filled with the same symbol, you get a spin on the multiplier wheel!
New Classics
When we think of classic slots, we think of three-reel games, fruits, bars, sevens, and a few paylines. They are based on the classic age of slot machine gaming in-house and boast a vintage or retro appeal. However, video slots have been around for long enough and are distinct enough from the kinds of games to realise classics of their own.
So, classic online slots can instead refer to older but very popular video slots that are revered by their players. Among the very best of those are these new classic slots:
Starburst
One of the first smash-hit low volatility slots, Starburst has only one special feature – but that’s plenty to command the time of players. On the five reels and ten paylines, everyone hopes to land one of the Starburst Wilds. This special symbol will substitute for all symbols, expand over its reel, and trigger a re-spin.
If another Starburst Wild lands, a second re-spin is triggered. This can happen three times, stacking the middlemost reels with wilds to create more wins. Helping this along is the fact that on each reel, all symbols are stacked. Despite launching in 2013, Starburst remains one of the most popular slots in the world right now.
Gonzo’s Quest
Embark on an adventure to find the legendary lost city of gold with the little conquistador that could in Gonzo’s Quest. The NetEnt slot really leans into its Mesoamerican theme, with a stone wall of symbols featuring ancient carvings. As the symbols generate wins, they break, creating a cascade and upping the multiplier.
Of course, Gonzo’s Quest aims to find the lost city. To do this, you’ll need to combine the golden symbols. Three or more will give you at least ten free spins, in which the multiplier is tripled. A standard win gets a 3x multiplier, but chain three wins and you’ll have a 15x multiplier in the free spins mode.
Book of Dead
Rich Wilde and the Book of Dead shot to the top of the popularity charts for its clear-cut path to big wins and its high volatility gameplay. The Egyptian-themed slot follows an architect adventurer in search of the fabled Book of Dead, which is exactly what you seek as well.
Find three or more of the Tomb Scatters (which are also wilds) containing the Book of Dead, and you’ll get yourself ten free spins. In this bonus game, a symbol is randomly chosen to be the special expanding symbol. Whenever it lands, it completely covers the reels, turning five symbols across the game into wins on every payline. As far as classic online slots go, Book of Dead is certainly one of the biggest.
Thunderstruck II
Thunderstruck was one of the first sensations of online slot gaming when Microgaming launched it in 2004. In 2010, they followed it up with Thunderstruck II, which is now hailed as one of the most popular video slots of all time, and, thus, worthy of classic slots status.
The symbols cover much of the pantheon of Asgard, with Odin, Thor, Loki, and Valkyrie, as well as the Bifrost, longboats, and Mjolnir that look to combine across the 243 paylines. Along with wilds doubling wins and the Wildstorm Feature turning whole reels wild at random, there’s also the high-powered Great Hall of Spins. In this feature, you can unlock each of the four modes as you enter the Great Hall through your play.
Immortal Romance
Microgaming realised they struck gold with the 243-ways formula and incorporated it into many games that can now be classed as classic slots. One such slot is 2011’s Immortal Romance. Inspired by vampire romanticism that was flying around at the time on TV and in movies, the true draw of Immortal Romance is its unlockable features.
It’s a similar game to Thunderstruck II, which is likely why Immortal Romance has also remained so popular over the years. On its gothic reels, you can trigger wilds that double wins, the Wild Desire feature to turn reels wild, and The Chamber of Spins. Each return to The Chamber of Spins unlocks bigger and better bonuses.
Classic slots remain prevalent in the ever-advancing world of online video slots because there’s an inherent charm and appeal in simplicity and vintage gameplay. You can enjoy classic slots on all devices, so it's a great way to add some spice to your sessions. Explore all the slots themes available on Pink Casino.