lot manufacturers are in the business of

trying to outdo each other in creativity year

after year with new games in all of the

popular slot and video poker genres. But

perhaps the larger task every year at this time, when all the

manufacturers roll out their new games at the annual Global

Gaming Expo in Las Vegas, is trying to outdo themselves.

Every September brings a breathtaking new array of

multiline video slots, high-profile progressive games with

famous brands and uncanny new twists to the classic reel-

spinners. Every year, slot operations officials ask

themselves what the slot-makers could possibly come up

with to top last year’s array of new games. And every year,

no one comes away from the big trade show disappointed.

The slot manufacturer’s first commandment is Thou Shalt

Not Bore, and trust us, they are all observing it with religious

fervor this year as they continue to strive to keep you planted

in your seat with their new slot games.

Strictly Slots is unique in that it is the only

major player publication granted annual access to

all the slot manufacturers’ newest ideas—before

they are announced to players, before they are revealed to

other media, often before they are even placed into cabinets

for prototype display at the trade show. We give you this still-

top-secret information for one reason: to get the playing

public pumped up for the coming year of new game launches.

For the past few years, most of the major manufacturers

have introduced powerful new video formats, radical new

cabinet styles, and generally, game formats that offer

intriguing twists. This year’s lineup of new games will

invariably capitalize on all of these technological advances

and offer a wealth of features and twists that you have not

seen before.

So sit back and enjoy your peek into the future at the

games that will be coming to a casino near you during 2004.

We have arranged them in alphabetical order by

manufacturer, since each and every slot-maker is offering

great innovation, and in our view, all of them deserve equal

emphasis.

The bottom line for all the new slot offerings

is fun—and you’re in for a lot of it within the

coming year. That said, let the games begin!

A sneak peek at the NEW slot games in store for the coming year

HERE COMETHE

AC

Coin &

Slot

Pleasantville, NJ-based AC Coin & Slot isstill the exclusive distributor for slot leaderIGT in Atlantic City and the Caribbean, butfor the past few years, the company’s role as adeveloper of innovative new bonus slot gameshas been just as important.

The most successful bonus concept for AC Coinhas been Slotto, the lottery-style sphere that has served asthe bonus apparatus for several games both by AC Coin itself andin partnership with IGT. Games using this bonus feature use a baseslot to trigger lotto balls, each bearing a bonus amount, swirlinginside the sphere. One or more of the balls drop into a chamber that,in a patented electronic sleight-of-hand, registers a bonus amountfor the player.

This year, the company rolls out several great new slots usingthe original Slotto sphere, plus a few variations on the bonusmethod that are sure to turn many heads on the slot floor.

Among the new games with the traditional Slotto sphereis I Spy, a reel-spinning slot carrying a theme based on thepopular 1960s hip spy television series starring Bill Cosbyand Robert Culp. On the video side are two newpartnership games with IGT: Bewitched: The NoseyNeighbor is a sequel to last year’s monster hit based onthe popular 1960s sitcom. The game features an IGTiGame Plus multiline video base game with hilariousprimary and second-screen bonus features involvingthe bits from the show in which neighbor GladysKravitz tries to convince her husband, Abner, of thestrange goings-on next door, where beautiful witchSamantha Stevens lives. One brand-new iGamevideo slot using the Slotto sphere is Laverne &Shirley, based on the hit 1970s sitcom starringPenny Marshall and Cindy Williams.

There are some intriguing games, though,that will use modified versions of the famousSlotto sphere. Alien Adventure places thesphere in the middle of the top box as a huge planet,surrounded by hovering spacecraft. The player stopsthe “orbit” to select one of the spacecraft, and a bonusaward is based on the lotto balls inside the sphere,which all look like planets bursting forth in sort of a“Big Bang” theme.

A new Slotto version of a slot based on the 1950ssitcom “The Honeymooners,” called TheHoneymooners—Baby, You’re the Greatest,is being released at the G2E show. In this game, thebase reel-spinning slot triggers swirling bonus Slottoballs inside a beautiful, translucent heart-shaped top-box display built around the Slotto sphere. Thedisplay vibrates and pulses with light to give theimpression that the heart is actually beating. The slotgame itself features audio clips from the legendary

Honeymooners series, which, along with reelsymbols and the fantastic artwork, wrap atheme around the undying romance between

Ralph and Alice Kramden, the show’s two maincharacters.

Two other new Slotto-style games aredefinite must-sees for the coming year. Bingo

Nights wraps a disco-music theme (withappropriate lighting and sound effects) around a

Slotto sphere molded into a dead-ringer for a bingotumbler. When the bonus round is initiated, the tumbler

itself begins rotating just like a real bingo tumbler would. Thetriggering symbols on the reels also activate a partially filled bingocard, displayed on a small color LCD video screen on the front ofthe slot. The player presses a button to stop the bingo tumbler andsend one of the balls into a chamber. They light up spots on thebingo card until a bingo is achieved, triggering a bonus award forthe player. It is a great mix of live action, animation and

sound to replicate the live bingo experience.The other modified Slotto game is not only a

must-see, it’s a must-smell. Popcorn turns theSlotto sphere into a popcorn popper. When the

bonus is triggered with a reel symbol, thechamber starts churning yellow and white Slottoballs around to the sound of a popcorn popper,and yes—the smell of buttered popcorn comes outof the machine. The bonus round flashes lights aroundan indicator for a small, medium or large bag of

popcorn—which means one, two or three Slottoballs, respectively, will fall into the bonus chamber.The player presses a button to stop the flashing onhis bonus award and the Slotto-ball “kernels” flowout the top of a mechanism inside the chamber justlike popcorn does inside the popper when it’sready. One, two or three Slotto balls then fall intothe chamber to indicate the bonus award.

Finally, one of AC Coin’s most creative bonustop-box games in years is coming to playersthis year in the form of Super Bonus HotDogs Deluxe. The top box of this reel-

spinner is shaped like an old-time hot dog stand,and behind glass are two rows of mechanical,smiley-face hot dogs. When the bonus is initiated,they bob up and down out of their formations toreveal bonus amounts on their hot-dog bellies tothe tune of “Hot Diggity Dog.” After the song, onehot dog remains standing with the player’s bonusamount revealed.

One other fun aspect of this game—another“smell” feature. When the bonus is initiated andthe song starts playing, the smell of hot dogscooking permeates the air around the machine.(We can’t wait to see if casinos start opening hotdog stands near banks of these machines tosatisfy hungry players.)

AC Coin & Slot Service Co.

Aris

tocr

at

Aristocrat’s U.S.-based research and development team has rolledout a parade of new slot products, bonusing systems and uniqueprogressive links during the past few years. In the coming year,Aristocrat is launching scores of new games for these product groupsand more.

In the now-standard MKVI video platform, one of the best isKing of the Nile. King of the Nile’s Egyptian pharaoh theme iswoven into a nine-line or 20-line video slot featuring sharp 3-Danimation, graphics made up of more than 1.6 million individualcolors, and a remarkably high hit frequency, thanks to a collection offree-spin bonus events and a multilevel main bonus. The title King ofthe Nile symbol is wild, and doubles any winning combination inwhich it lands. Pyramid symbols on the first, third and fifth reel (iftwo land, the last reel spins an extra long time to heighten theanticipation) trigger a free-spin round in which all wins are tripled.

At the end of the free spins, a second screen appears to givethe player an option to keep his accumulated bonus, trade it for amystery multiplier of the total wager, or replay the free-spinround for a possible higher or lower bonus. This is an incrediblylucrative bonus round.

Aristocrat is also re-introducing some of its most popular videoslots from the older MKV platform on its new, enhanced-featureMKVI platform. In a series dubbed MKVI Classic, new life will be

pumped into games includingQueen of the Nile, WildCougar, K.G. Bird andPenguin Pays.

Aristocrat is showcasingnine games in its new ReelPower series, which offers anovel wagering setup: Players

activate reels with wagers of five coins each—a minimum of 25 creditsto activate all five reels, and additional bets in multiples of 25 up tomax-coin wagers of 200 or 500 coins. Once the paylinesare active, all jackpots are scatter-pays. Once all five reelsare activated, there are up to 243 possible jackpotcombinations on any given spin.

Three new games are included in themanufacturer’s September introductions: Snapshot,which was highlighted in last month’s “Slot Spotlight”section, carries an amateur photography theme withcompelling graphics, sound and animation of clickingcameras and developing photos. There are several waysto win free spins with multiplied jackpots, whencameras, film and flash symbols appear on certain reels,causing snapshots to appear. Tthe snapshots“developed” translate into free spins, and all free-spinjackpots are doubled if all the snapshots are developed.

Other new Reel Power games include Queenof Atlantis, a fun penny or two-cent gamefeaturing a mermaid as the main character; andWhales of Cash, featuring an ocean scene. Aswith the new MKVI games, the new Reel Powergames all include scatter-pays, wild symbols andfree spins as the main features.

Aristocrat’s biggest news for the tourist market this year is thecompany’s first major licensed brand in a video slot, JeffFoxworthy: You Might Be A Redneck If... This is a 20-linevideo slot featuring the popular bits of comedian Jeff Foxworthy.Players make a five-credit “ante” bet that qualifies them to choosefrom five separate bonus events when the bonus is triggered. A tinyTV monitor in the corner of the screen that serves as a sixth reeltriggers that bonus. If Foxworthy’s image pops up on that screen, theplayer chooses from five bonus games: Bug Zapper, Squirrel Pie, PigBonus, Christmas Lights, and the funniest of the five, Pick a TV. In

this latter event, two televisions are shown, each displaying aFoxworthy joke. The player picks one to choose either a credit

win or free spins. (The joke is the funny part. Forinstance: “You might be a redneck if… you metyour wife at a family reunion.”)

Aristocrat’s new entry in the Bonus Bankseries is Lil’ Lucy, a “lucky lady” character thatappears randomly in any of the slots in a linkedbank to award the player one of five bonusevents: a random credit award; a free-spinbonus round; or one of three second-screenevents including a dice roll, a wheel-spin and an

award inside a Mystery Chest.Finally, Aristocrat introduces Millioni$er,

a new game for the linked progressive Hyperlinksystem. Hyperlink links games in a bank to acontroller, and a set level of coin-in on all thegames sends a random bonus event to one of themachines. The bonus event results in one of fourlevels of guaranteed progressive jackpots. Whatdistinguishes this version of Hyperlink is the topjackpot—$1 million on a penny-denominationalgame. Various MKVI games form the base slotsfor this new link.

Aristocrat Technologies

Last year, Atronic Americas culminated a four-year drive to establisha global research and development network including U.S.-basedgame design for the subsidiary of Germany’s Gauselmann Group. Thepush started with the company’s 1998 licensing in Nevada, and cameto fruition last year with the introduction of several new productgroups, headed by Hi(!)bility, a sophisticated new video operatingsystem housed in the radical “e-motion”cabinet; and Arizona Magic, thecompany’s first wide-area progressiveproduct and its first game to feature amechanical top-box bonus game in itsinaugural game, Sphinx Magic.

This year, Atronic rolls out a parade of new games in these andits core slot series, Cashline, in one of the most diverse groups ofgames to be displayed at this year’s G2E show.

Arizona Magic is the name of Atronic’s wide-area network in theArizona Native American casinos. This year, the company expands itswide-area business with new Indian casino links in the form ofCalifornia Magic, Michigan Magic and New Mexico Magic. It alsoexpands the product line for these links with games that will also findtheir way into commercial casinos as stand-alone games in a newseries called Towerline.

The first two new Towerline (and Magic) games are called CoolCatch and Xanadu Magic.

Cool Catch reprises the skiing penguin character from thepopular Atronic games I. C. Money and I. C. Cash, with patentedgame features such as the “one-way” or “two-way” bettingconfiguration. One coin per line results in normal left-to-rightmultiline play and qualifies the player for the secondary progressivejackpot; two coins per line, or betting “two ways,” adds right-to-leftpays, increasing scatter wins and hit frequency, and qualifies theplayer for the top Magic Jackpot.

The game-specific bonus in Cool Catch is triggered by four ormore scattered “fishing penguin” symbols. The penguin characterappears on the top of the reels to ice-fish for the player’s bonus. Threeor more Bonus symbols trigger the Magic Bonus and a shot at the topMagic Jackpot when playing two ways. The top box includes five decksof Magic Bonus Cards, which spin on spindles when the bonus roundis activated, revealing bonus amounts or a Penguin Cool Catch card.The player presses one of two buttons to activate a Magic Light, whichflashes around the cards until landing on one. If it is a Penguin card,that card respins to a bonus amount and is awarded to the player. If itis a credit amount, it is added to the bonus meter and the processrepeats, with the card respinning to either a Collect card or a MagicCard. The Magic Card lands the progressive jackpot.

Xanadu Magic wraps similar features around a mystical Chinesetheme.

In the Hi(!)bility series, launched last year with the gameAtlantica, Atronic is rolling out several new games—all with the high-resolution graphics, enhanced game features and dual-screen formatof the series and all housed in the innovative height-adjustablecabinet. Topping the list is Xanadu, a sister game to Xanadu Magic.The theme is a mystical Fortune City, played out in a bonus roundinviting the player to enter doors to a 3-D. Here, where he selectsfrom tiles to enter the Terracotta Treasure Chamber, to select fromwarrior statues to reveal bonus credits. From there, the player canachieve additional credits by selecting the statue that unlocks a thirdscreen, the Dragon’s Chamber.

Atronic is also releasing several of its most popular Cashlinegames in the new Hi(!)bility format, including The Sign ofZodiac, Babooshka and Sphinx II.

Several new games are being introduced in Atronic’s standardCashline series as well. A few samples:

Gold Seekers features a unique, ongoing, accumulatingbonus event. Above each reel are minecarts. When two or more gunpowderbarrels line up on the reels, the barrelsexplode to fill gold nuggets into thecorresponding barrels. When three ormore mine-cart symbols appear on the

reels, the corresponding mine carts are pulled from the top inanimation and dumped into the player’s credit meter.

Mystery Mask features a Phantom of the Opera-styletheme, centered on mysterious characters called the DisguisedMan and Disguised Woman. A scatter-pay feature displays candleson the reel spaces that reveal hidden bonus amounts. A “mysterysymbol” within those choices opens the door to a second-screenfeature in which the player searches through 3-D catacombs forone of the two mystery characters.

Running Numbers wraps a storyline around cartoon animalsdressed up like gangsters in a number-running racket. In a uniqueprimary game feature, all four-of-a-kind wins pay right to left as well asleft to right. In the Spaghetti Bonus, players select a plate of spaghetti toreveal a bonus amount. In the Loan Shark Bonus, players pick briefcasesto reveal bonus amounts. In the Running Numbers Bonus, playerscreate their bonus amount by choosing from the “running numbers”offered and placing them into slots to form a three-digit award.

AtronicAmericas

Atr

onic

Bally is another company capitalizing on great success of productlines introduced during the past few years, with new games in itsEVO video line, EVO HYBRID reel/video combination line, andits Cash for Life thousand-dollar-a-week progressive line,on the Thrillions wide-area network.

However, Bally also is introducing a new reel-spinningprogressive line this year called Quartermillion$. The titleis drawn from two major features of the wide-area progressivelink: First, the top jackpot resets at a quarter of a milliondollars. Second, while all denominations in the link qualify forthat $250,000-plus jackpot, max coin in all denominations equals athree-coin quarter bet—maximum wager is 75 cents, whether it’s inpennies, nickels or quarters.

Heading up the EVO and EVO HYBRID lines is a collection allbased on characters and bits from the Saturday Night Live televisionseries. While games like Hans & Franz, Coneheads andChurch Lady were introduced earlier this year, G2E will offer thefirst glimpse of two new SNL games:

Wayne’s World is an EVO HYBRID game featuring Wayneand Garth, the characters created by Mike Meyers and Dana Carveywho run a public-access cable TV show in their basement. In onebonus round, the player chooses from three guitars to reveal a two- tofive-time bonus multiplier applied to the jackpot of the winningcombination. The main Wayne’s World Bonus is a pick-a-tile gamegiving the player the option to keep or pass on the bonus amount upto three times. Operaman, another EVO HYBRID game, featuresAdam Sandler’s opera-singing news anchor character. All of the newSNL games feature audio recorded by the actual cast members.

In the new Quartermillion$ series, two new reel-spinnersheading the list of inaugural games are Lucky Wheel

Spin & Win and Quartermillion$ In theMoney. Lucky Wheel features a bonus wheelmounted in the top box. When the wheel spins,the amount goes to the indicator, rather than viceversa in other games of this style. When a spin of

the wheel is triggered, from one to three back-litarrows light up randomly around the perimeter, with

a cumulative bonus award of up to three amounts. In theMoney adds the quarter-million-dollar jackpot and the bonus wheelto one of Bally’s most popular ProSlot 6000 reel-spinners. A spin ofthe wheel can result in bonus amounts up to 1,000 credits or a re-spinfeature similar to Roaring 20s, in which the reels re-spin to the samewinning combination up to four times.

Bally is introducing a total of 10 new games to reprise the popularBonus Frenzy style of game, in which a fourth reel serves strictly as abonus applied to winnings on the three main reels. Heading the list isPlayboy Playmate Frenzy, which places the Frenzy game inside abunny cabinet and places the fourth reel in the center of the top box.When a winning combination lands on the reels with a bonus symbol on

the fourth reel, the jackpot is augmented by a multiplierranging from two times to 10 times, free spins repeatingthe win, or various straight bonus credit awards.

Bally brings a great collection of new licensedgames to the G2E show this year. In the EVO seriesof multiline video slots, there is Felix the Cat,

based on the cult-classic cartoon; S&H GreenStamps, a nostalgic look at the legendary stamp-collectingmerchandise catalogues; L’il Abner, based on the classichillbilly cartoon strip; and Iron Chef, based on the popularTV cooking show.

These licensed brands join new EVOproprietary themes such as CaptainJackpot, a game built around a slotsuperhero who gives a10-game free-spin

bonus round “super power” by injecting a two-to 10-time multiplier into all winningcombinations.

Bally is also introducing two new EVOHYBRID games for its Cash for Lifeprogressive link, which pays a top jackpot of$1,000 a week for life. New Cash for Lifetitles include Higher or Lower andKing Tut’s Treasure. Other Cash forLife games include a ProSlot 6000 reel-spinner titled Bonus Spin and an EVOvideo slot called Triple Spin.

Of course, these just scratch thesurface of what is an amazing collectionof new games from Bally Gaming thisyear. There are several other new EVOvideo titles. There are new stand-aloneProSlot 6000 reel-spinners. There aregiant versions of popular Bally games ina new product line called the Big Series.In all, Bally is displaying 110 differentgame titles at the G2E show. And themanufacturer is just getting warmed up.

BallyGaming

Bal

ly

Leading slot manufacturer IGT is set to once again leave G2Eattendees breathless from its variety of new games—anunprecedented 150 in all. Included in these are many standouts, butnone more so than the first games in the manufacturer’s new AVPvideo format. (It stands for Advanced Video Platform. And is it ever.)

You must see this new video format to believe it. It trulytakes the slot machine to levels never before seen. Nowhereis this more evident than in Star Wars, one ofthe inaugural games on the AVP platform.

This game is not to be missed. IGT hascaptured the grandeur of the original StarWars trilogy of films, released beginning in1977. Primary game icons and bonussequences use audio and video clips from theoriginal movies, along with freshly recorded,game-specific audio from original cast membersJames Earl Jones (Darth Vadar) and AnthonyDaniels (C-3PO). But the real star of this game is thecomputer animation in the bonus sequences. IGT used its new HDTVstudio (the only facility of its type in Nevada) to create Hollywood-quality computer animation using the same “motion capture”technique used in films such as Lord of the Rings. One bonussequence presents a “light sabers” fight between two film characters,created by layering computer-animated characters over live videocreated by martial-arts experts. The effect is simply astounding—you’ve never seen a slot like this before. Trust us.

The other major AVP release is Wheel of Fortune SpecialEdition—Triple Action, a prototype of which was shown at lastyear’s G2E. IGT has tweaked and improved the original game tomaximize the benefits of the AVP format and the result is, once again,astounding. Live-action video of Wheel of Fortune co-hosts Pat Sajak

and Vanna White, along with segments depicting sequences from theTV show in bonus rounds, present images more sharp and clear thaneven your television set can muster.

And these are only two new IGT games. There are 148 more—amazing new stuff in every slot genre imaginable, from iGame Plusvideo slots to S2000 reel-spinners to new licensed brands in theMegaJackpots progressive line to mechanical top-box bonus slots to anentire new series called Reel Touch. The variety is mind-boggling. Here’sjust a small taste of what’s in store from the master of the slot floor:

Drew Carey Rocks!! If you like to laugh, you’ll love thisgame. It is an iGame Plus video slot featuring live-action

video of comedian Drew Carey dispensingsome of his best material. One bonus round iscalled My Bonus. IGT recorded Carey doing agroup of one-liners using the phrase “Mybonus is so big…” for this one. Every time thebonus is triggered, you get a different one-liner—lines like, “My bonus is so big it takeslonger lunches than I do,” or “My bonus is so

big it was overthrown in a coup. It’s now knownas the Democratic Republic of My Bonus.”

Funny stuff! (Hint: When you’re prompted to press a button toactivate a bonus feature, wait a while. Carey will come on the screenand remind you. It is hilarious.)

Speaking of classic comedy, don’t miss Reel Respect withRodney Dangerfield. It’s an iGame Plus videoslot in the MegaJackpots multisite progressiveline, with a bonus round featuring some of thebest comedy in history—one-liners recordedby Rodney Dangerfield in IGT’s sound

studio. The jokesall start out with “Idon’t get norespect!” and endup with somethinglike “My wife told meI was going to drive her to an early grave.I had the car out in two minutes!”

18 Reeler Cash Convoy is asequel to last year’s iGame Plus video slotbased on the long-haul trucker culture. Inthis version, sophisticated animationtechniques are used to create a raucouscomedy police pursuit of a long-haul trucker.

In a sequence stacking up to the best Hollywood has to offer, thetruck eventually forces the police car off the highway and picks up asleazy female hitchhiker to ride off into the sunset.

Elizabeth Taylor: Dazzling Diamonds is an iGame Plusvideo slot with a new twist—jewelry as the top prize. The reel icons all

International GameTechnology

IGT

depict Liz’ famously elegant jewelry, and thetop prizes in the game are actual pieces ofjewelry designed or approved by Liz herself.

This only scratches the surface of IGT’snew video slots carrying licensed brands.There is Alien, based on the Alien motionpictures and featuring some of the scariestanimated sequences ever placed in a slot.There is Animal House, based on theclassic National Lampoon spoof of collegelife. There is Steve McQueen,a new Diamond Cinemavideo slot featuring abonus round depictingone of McQueen’sclassic movie race carchase scenes. There isAmerican Graffiti, based onthe quintessential late ’50s/early ’60s youthculture. There are The Dating Game andThe Newlywed Game, both hosted byJim Lange. There are sequels to the bestbranded games of the past few years,including Beverly Hillbillies—Bubblin’Crude, new Diamond Cinema slots featuringFrank Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe,Regis’ Money Mixer, and two new “I LoveLucy” games, Lucy In Hollywood andLucy’s Grapestomping. And there is anew Elvis game, featuring the patentedwagering setup first seen in Multi-StrikePoker, in which players can win up to fourtimes the normal paytable amount withsuccessive winning spins.

But IGT’s game lineup this year alsoproves that the slot king does not need a

branded license to create an excellent new slot.Great new proprietary iGame Plus themesinclude games like Nurse Follies and itsHospital Charges Bonus. This bonus roundtallies the player’s award according to items ona hospital bill—“extra pillow: 125 credits”;“laxative: 75 credits.” Or how about HotFlashes? This is a game based on—youguessed it—menopause. Reel symbols includeaspirins and a Buns of Steel exercise

videotape. The main bonus event isthe Mood Swings Bonus.

IGT also is introducing acomplete new suite ofS2000 reel-spinners, many

of which are part of a newseries called Reel Touch.

This series is a combination of theformer Vision Series and subsidiary AnchorGames’ top-box bonus conversion kits. Wherethe Vision Series played out bonus events on aminiature color LCD video screen, this seriesfeatures a giant LCD screen in the top box.Among the inaugural games is Flip FlopDeluxe, a new version of a game firstreleased as an Anchor conversion kit. Thebonus round featuring frogs jumping amid lilypads to increment a bonus amount is re-created here in beautiful 3-D animation on agiant screen.

There is much, much more comingfrom IGT in the coming year. Were this abook rather than a magazine, perhaps wecould present a more thorough picture of theofferings. But suffice it to say, you will beamazed.

For the past few years, Mikohn Gaming has beenrolling out title after title in its Think Big!series of video slots—games with thecompany’s signature quality animationand something not found in most slots, askill factor involving strategy to completea bonus round or even trivia questions.

This year, Mikohn is introducing acontingent of sequel games to its successfulThink Big! releases, all with the samequality animation and element of skill ofthe previous releases. However, the bignews from Mikohn this year involves twocompletely different types of games—amajor branded release packed withbonus features, and a game that employsa factor diametrically opposed to skillafor bonus wins: gravity.

The big branded release isGarfield: It’s All About Me! Basedon the popular comic strip featuring

single man Jon and his cat, Garfield, this game includes acollection of hilarious bonus events that capture the spirit ofthe theme. The bonus events are played out both on the mainscreen and on a mechanical “pie” bonus in the top box. InMission: Refrigerator, the player chooses a four-square pathto the refrigerator for Garfield while master Jon sleeps. Eachsquare the cat touches causes either a credit award or anoise. If Garfield reaches the refrigerator without waking

Mikohn Gaming

Konami Gaming has only been in the U.S. casino market for twoyears, having been created in 2001 as the North Americansubsidiary of amusement-game giant Konami of Japan. The U.S.subsidiary has used those two years to refine its North Americanproduct, gaining a reputation along the way for creating some of thebest video graphics in the business.

That point was driven home last year with games like MariachiMadness, with its bonus round featuring flaming peppers and adancing mariachi character with an evil grin that are almost spookyin their visual intensity; and Rocky, the manufacturer’s firstbranded license, with a bonus round depicting one of the famousfight scenes from the series of Sylvester Stallone films.

This year, Konami introduces a suite of new games that

drive home the manufacturer’s prowess in video animation onceagain. Scar Fish is a 10-line video slot with a theme builtaround animated gangster fish characters with names likeFrankie Flounder and Mack the Mackerel.

The slot features three separate second-screen bonus events.The first is a simple on-screen shell game, initiated when Frankie theFlounder symbols land on the reels. The symbols animate and turninto shells, and the player picks one for the bonus, repeating theprocess three times. The other two bonus events are interconnectedinto a two-level game. Reel triggers cause the screen to depict theMack the Mackerel character throwing knives at several objects. Theplayer receives a multiplier of his total bet for each object hit, but onthe third throw, if he hits an Advance symbol, it triggers a second-level game called Carmine the Carp. The screen shows Carmine in a

pawnshop, and the player selects items for additional multipliersuntil revealing a Fish Cop symbol, which ends the round.

Floppy Shoes is a great game featuring acircus clown theme. In one second-screen event,items are shot into a clown’s pants by cannonsto accumulate a bonus award. In the other, theplayer picks clowns to stuff into a miniatureclown car to accumulate the award.

In Buzzin’ Bee Band, the theme is a jazzband made up of bees that tour the country in abus. The main second-screen event displays agame board, with the Bee Band on a tour bus. A

wheel spin determines the spaces the bus willtravel to reveal bonus awards or a trip to theHoney Dome for the gig (and high-levelaward). In Cash Inferno, the player hasopportunities to put out fires for bonus awardsin two separate events, all played out in

amazing animation.

Konami Gaming

Mik

ohn

Kon

ami

Jon up, the player moves to the higher-level bonus,played out on the top-box wheel.

The other second-screen bonus event iscalled Target Practice. The screen showsGarfield weighing a pie in his hand, with three

potential targets in the background—Jon, hisgirlfriend, Arlene, or Odie the dog. The player is

prompted to “choose a victim,” which reveals a bonus award. Atrivia question then appears on the screen, with two possibleanswers. The player chooses an answer, and Garfield flings thepie. If the answer is correct, the pie hits the victim, and thesecond-level wheel game is triggered.

The top-box wheel game, initiated by success in eitherof the main bonus rounds, is called Slice of Life. An indicatorspins around all the slices on the pie in the top box, landingon one for the bonus award.

These bonus events are augmented by two primary-gameevents: A popcorn symbol under Garfield’s image above the reelscauses him to animate and sneak down to eat the popcorn. If helets out a burp, several reel symbols become “unglued” to revealbonus awards. In the Fifth Reel Stuck feature, the fifth reelrandomly keeps spinning after the other four have stopped.Garfield hits it, and it stops to reveal an additional bonus award.

Mikohn’s other new game style this year is the launch of aseries called Gravity Pays. These are reel-spinning base gameswith a tall pachinko-style top box. Reel triggers cause a ball toshoot to the top and fall through the pegs of the pachinko board.A video indicator under the physical pegs of the board changesthe bonus amounts around as the ball falls. The slot in which theball lands—and the resulting bonus award—is notpredetermined; it depends on gravity. Dumb luck—the oppositeof a skill-based bonus. Inaugural games in this series areKazoingo and Liberty Ball.

To these new game styles, Mikohn adds some great sequels toits previous Think Big! games. There are two new versions of Clue,based on the famous murder-mystery board game. Clue:Unusual Suspects features a primary-game bonus in whichcharacters toss knives at each other from their reel position, and asecond-screen event in which the player is given hints to guesswhich suspect in a 3-D mansion scene committed a murder. Thebonus round then progresses to a second-level bonus in whichthe player guesses the weapon used. Clue: Most Wanted is areel-spinning slot with another pie-style mech-anical top-box

game, triggered by a bonus symbol on a special fourth reel.Finally, Mikohn is releasing a new version of its hit game

Battleship, based on the legendary sink-the-ship board game. InBattleship Treasure Quest, the player must determinewhether the enemy sub is directly above or below his sub. The battlecontinues with each “hit.” Getting all the way through the board

triggers a higher-level ShoreLeave bonus round.

Three years ago, Shuffle Master Gaming launched itsnew video platform, a LINUX-based operating systemthat pushed the ability to create graphics and multiplegame features to new levels. But it was last year thatthe capabilities of the new video system really came tofruition, with games like The Amazing Spider Manand Budweiser.

This year, the talents of their game designers andthe capabilities of its superb video platform onceagain come together in a dazzling display of videoanimation, remarkable graphics and loads of bonusfeatures in a new suite of video slot games.

Heading the list of Shuffle Master’s 2003 gameintroductions is Chicago, an amazing reproductionin a video slot of last year’s Academy Award-winningmotion picture. Shuffle Master has always donegame themes in a masterful way, and trust us, theygot this one right. The game’s music, images andbonus features capture the dark humor and cynicalwit that were the hallmarks of the film.

There are three main bonus events, each reproducing aspects ofthe film. When triggering symbols land on the reels, the player isshown a menu of the three bonus games, and gets to pick the one hewants to play.

In Making News, the player is shown the editor of thefictional Chicago Gazette, framed in photo negatives. The playeris asked to choose a negative of a picture for a sensational leadstory for the next issue. Each selection draws areaction from the editor, in a word balloon:“Another murder! This will sell millions ofcopies! I’ll pay you 135 credits for it!”

Jail House Confession re-createsthe production number in the filmthat showed tiers of jail cells withsilhouetted beauties each giving herversions of the crimes that got herlocked up. The player selects cells—the women slither back and forthbefore the choice; the animation isremarkable—and gets a bonusamount for each alibi (example: “Hefell into my knife…10 times”) untilone of the convicts owns up with a“true confession,” ending the bonusround. Tap Dancing re-createsRichard Gere’s summation dance asthe defense lawyer before the jury inthe trial of the main character. Theplayer selects jurors and is paid anaccumulating bonus for each jurorwho stands up and shouts “Guilty!”The bonus round ends when a “Notguilty!” verdict is shouted. Don’tmiss this game.

Other notable games include

Isn’t It Romantic?According to New GamesProject Manager Alex Hartl,his staff polled all thewomen who work for ShuffleMaster to create a game forwomen, and this is it.

The generic femaletheme in the 15-line video slotis communicated in softcolors and reel symbolsdepicting flowers, boxes ofcandy, champagne and thelike. Five wedding bells yieldthe top jackpot. In the mainbonus event, Cupid shootsarrows at reel symbols on thetriggering screen to transformthem into wild Valentinehearts, and the player is paidthe resulting win—even if it’sthe top jackpot. A secondarybonus event occurs when threeroses line up on the middle

reels; the player picks one for the bonus award.Getting Wild is Shuffle Master’s answer to the resurgence of

the traditional reel-spinner. It is a video slot, but it is formatted tolook like a traditional reel-spinning game. There are four reels and asingle payline, with a unique twist—if a bar symbol lands on thefourth reel, all bar symbols become wild. This jacks the hit frequencyfar beyond any traditional single-line slot game.

Also new from Shuffle Master: Men Are from Mars,Women Are from Venus re-creates the humor from the best-

selling book of the same name. ParlayPoker is a unique video poker game that

deals two hands at a timeand gives the player theopportunity to make aparlay bet. If both hands

are winners, the playerwins the paytable

amounts for those handsplus a payoff on the parlaybet. Finally, the companyhas used its license tocreate games based onMarvel Comics to createthe ultimate Marvel slotgame: Heroes andVillains. This game isloaded with bonus eventsand story lines involving acavalcade of superheroesand super-villains fromthe pages of MarvelComics.

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Last year, Sigma Game forged new ground bypartnering with Harrah’s Entertainment in thelaunch of the Game of LIFE with a six-monthpromotion at all Harrah’s casinos. They followedthat up with a sequel called Times of Your LIFE. This year,Sigma continues the LIFE franchise with a third gamebased on the popular board game about life’s milestones,called LIFE Around the World.

Like the other versions of LIFE, the main bonus round isplayed on a video game board with moves around the boardrepresented on a giant replica of the spinner used in the boardgame. Where LIFE II had several, brief, pick-a-tile bonus gamestriggered by reel symbols in the primary game, LIFE III wraps thosesmaller games into the main bonus round. That bonus round iswhat distinguishes this new version of LIFE. It is triggered by a“passport” symbol on the reels of the nine-line base game.

The passport symbols designate any of four “destinations”—North America, the Caribbean, Australia or Africa. Each destinationis the theme of a separate LIFE game board. When the destination ischosen, the video screen displays the game board opening to thatdestination, with icons of the location spread around the board alongwith other value squares. Each icon representing the destinationcarries a bonus award or multiplier, and the other squares designatebonuses such as one of the Life’s Little Games from Life II.

Sigma Game has a wealth of brand-new titles to go with thishigh-profile sequel, though. Two of Sigma’s new slots this year arebased on recently purchased licenses. The first, called PBR, is theresult of a license the manufacturer secured fromProfessional Bull Riders, Inc.

The multiline video slot’stheme includes the entire culturethat has surrounded the PBR tour(which, not coincidentally, stages itsfinals in Las Vegas every year),including the most popular ridersand even the most popular bulls.

There are three bonusevents depicting PBR lore. Oneof two second-screen bonusevents is called Stars of PBR.Triggering symbols cause the

screen to display a collection of drum heads bearing thelogos of all the famous bulls from the PBRtour. The player picks one and a bull

appears on the screen and jumps through thedrum head. After that, the bull begins to buck

as a bonus award number rises. The longer thebull bucks, the higher the award.

The main bonus replicates the actual PBR bull-riding contests. The player picks one of the tour’s

riders, and the animated bull-riding session begins.The number of seconds the rider manages to stay on the bull

constitutes a multiplier of the bonus amount—which is determined bya panel of “judges”—two human judges and one “bull judge”—afterthe rider falls from the bull. The bonus on the scorecard is multipliedby a number up to eight, corresponding with the eight seconds a realrider must remain mounted on a bull in PBR to qualify.

It is all great fun, with the PBR experience replicated in livelyanimation. There is even going to be a Tournament Version of thegame, with promotions supported partly by PBR.

Sigma Game’s other new licensed game is based on thosenovelty mounted fish that come to life when you approach them,

turning their head towardyou from the mount, lip-synching songs andspouting wisecracks. BigMouth Billy Bass is amultiline video slot withan authentic Billy Bassanimatronic fish perchedon top, mounted inside alog cabin on the top box.

Sigma has woven several bonus features around Billy, including Let’sGo Fishing, in which the player selects one of several fishing lures toreveal bonus awards. And animation shows a fishing line droppinginto the water to “fish” for Billy Bass (or another game character)and a multiplier to go with the bonus award.

Sigma’s other major game introductions at the show will actuallybe re-introductions. The manufacturer is applying its 21st centurytechnology—including ticket-printing capabilities, cashless playtechnology, etc.—to its reel-spinners and specialtyvideo poker games that were big hits during the 1990s.Reel-spinners including Treasure Tunnel,Treasure Wheel and 9-LineCherries ’R’ Wild will be rereleased inthe modern format, each with a smallLCD touch-screen monitor allowing theplayer to select the denomination, anddisplaying win information and a creditmeter. A new line called RetroPokerswill do similar re-introductions, injectingnew technology into Sigma Game classicvideo poker offerings such as SneakPeek Poker, Add ’Em Up andFlush Attack. In addition to ticketprinting and other peripheral improve-ments, the new poker versions feature alot better presentation and sharpergraphics of the classic games.

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WMS Gaming has a new video platform—one it has been working on for two years inpartnership with slot system whiz SierraDesign Group. The result of this effort,along with the company’s new “Bluebird”cabinet introduced last year, is a suite ofnew WMS games unlike anything you’veseen from the manufacturer to date.

Heading the list of new WMS videoslots is Robin Hood—SherwoodTreasure. This video slot providesa showcase of the capabilities ofWMS Gaming’s new videoplatform. The Archery Bonusfeatures state-of-the-art 3-D animation, as theplayer is awarded arandom number of arrowsfor Robin Hood to shoot attargets selected by theplayer. The farther awaythe target, the greater thevolatility—tougher shotsmean higher awards withless frequency. It is justone of a collection ofintricate, multilevel eventspacked into this game.

The next big news forWMS is a new, enhancedversion of JackpotParty, the classic game ofparty horns and the party“pooper” characters whoend the bonus round—firstreleased in a reel-spinnerwith an LED-screenbonus game andsubsequently on the

standard WMS platform. This time,the classic game resides on WMSGaming’s new CPU-NXT platform.The game features will provide a

new hobby for anyone who is afan of this original, classic WMSvideo slot.

Rakin’ It In features a yard-work theme, with a clever bonusround in which the playersearches a backyard for squirrelsusing the touch-screen feature.Each squirrel awards an

accumulating bonus amount. The bonusround ends if the player uncovers an owl,but a random occurrence has the owlremoving all the other owls on the screento give the player a clear shot at themaximum bonus.

Rich Little Piggies is a new videoslot based on the old Big Bang PiggyBankin’ reel-spinner. In the main bonusround, dice roll to move a pointer to one ofa group of cartoon pigs. The chosen pigreveals an accumulating credit amount andthe icon changes to a bomb. The bonusround continues until the pointer lands ona bomb, which triggers a free-spin round—

with a multiplier based on how longthe player lasted in the first round.

Monopoly Grand Hotelis the first game in the

Monopoly series to beplaced on WMS Gaming’snew, high-powered video

platform. As a result, it isloaded with bonus features

displayed in high-resolutionanimation. In the mainbonus round, the playerplaces hotels on variousproperties around theMonopoly board andcollects “guests” for hishotels by landing onvarious spots on the board(railroads, for instance,add more guests).

It is definitely a newday dawning for WMSGaming, and the origi-nator of American-stylemultiline video slot gamesis embarking on a new eraof enter-tainment for theplayer. ●

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