Jeopardy! Slot: Is this Game the Right Answer for You?

If the answer revealed was “a game based on the famous quiz show where the contestants answer questions by providing the question” then the question you would no doubt be asking is “What is the Jeopardy slot?”

Well, if you read on, you’ll find out all about it below.

Overview: Jeopardy!

Based on the famous TV show of the same name hosted by Alex Trebek, the Jeopardy! slot is a faithful homage to the game show that is still going strong but which perhaps enjoyed its halcyon days back in the 1970s and 80s. That said, it is still one of the most-viewed quiz shows across America.

The slot game is a more unusual 5×4 reel slot by IGT which boasts some unusual features (many of which are based on the show) and which offers 40 paylines and a maximum base game win of 2,000 coins although you can win up to 2,000 times your line bet as a jackpot.

Spins cost from $0.60 up to $60 per spin.

Who will the Jeopardy! slot appeal to?

The fact you can wager between two wide amounts means most slot fans will be able to play this game without making too large a dent in their bankroll.

It is also obvious that fans of the TV show, complete with its grating music, will love the slot too. The wins come along relatively frequently but the return to player rate of between 92.8 and 96.4 percent does make it play tight at times.

There are enough features packed into the slot to keep most slot fans entertained.

With the 5×4 format, though, it is perhaps a little more difficult to understand when a winning payline is triggered, especially when the paylines are not displayed on the reel screen initially.

Gameplay: Jeopardy!

The game play on Jeopardy is a little more complex than on 5×3 reel slots for two reasons, firstly that added fourth row makes spotting the lines more difficult and that is because the lines are not displayed on screen.

This does lead to disappointment when the reels seem to show a potentially big win and you find out that in actual fact, you’ve won nothing.

One of the more pleasing aspects of the slot is the relative frequency of base game wins. You do tend to hit wins – at least smaller wins – with relative frequency, but there are times when the game does seem to batten down the hatches and even a small win can seem like a distant memory.

The symbols are a mix of the chief cast of the Jeopardy show, including host Alex Trebek as the highest paying symbol. The low symbols are the easily recognisable question categories used on the show.

The wild symbol is interesting. This the Jeopardy! logo and when it appears on the screen it can scroll downwards turning more symbols below it wild. This is a random bonus, called the Wild Rush feature, and sometimes the wilds will scroll down and other times it will not.

Base game wins tend to be relatively small and for the bigger wins you need to land two of the bonus symbols on the reels. This triggers the bonus game, based on the board from the game show itself, where your selections will see you awarded a number of free spins, a multiplier plus a symbol acting as a wild during free spins.

You can even trigger the Daily Double and give yourself an extra pick with which you can land further free spins.

With music taken from the show, the Jeopardy! slot will certainly appeal to anybody who is a fan of the TV show.

Special features: Jeopardy!

Wild Rush feature

Land a wild on a reel and it gives you a chance of seeing the wild scroll down the reel turning one or more other symbols below it wild.

Bonus feature

Land two, three or four bonus symbols on the reels and you trigger the Jeopardy! bonus board feature which allows players to pick a number of free spins, a multiplier and a symbol to act as an additional wild.

Pick the right symbol you could also land the Daily Double and have another chance to add extra free spins to your total. You can win up to 11, 13 and 19 free spins depending on the number of bonus symbols landed, with up to 6x, 11x and 12x multipliers available.

What works?

Wild Rush feature

This is a good feature and appears frequently on the reels.

It sometimes doesn’t always pay off in terms of a big win and sometimes you may win nothing. But if you can hit this two or more times across the reels, your chances of a bigger base game win increase markedly.

Bonus feature

The Bonus Board game is a nice touch and immediately takes people back to the famous TV game show. It is a clever way to generate your free spins, Wild symbol and multiplier bonus.

Presentation

The game itself looks classy and especially looks the part in high definition.

What doesn’t?

Small base game wins

Too often you hit a base game win that does not even cover your initial bet. It can be frustrating to see yourself winning often, yet your bankroll still decreases over time.

Free spins payouts

Too often on free spins, your payout is somewhat poor. We landed free spins on numerous occasions and had to be content with 2x or 3x our bet.On one occasion eight out of nine free spins awarded came up with no win at all despite all the added wilds.

Music

The music starts off cheerily but quickly soon grates on the nerves as it is on a continuous loop.

It is not helped by the fact that the final refrain of the song sounds very much like the end of the nursery rhyme “I’m a little teapot” and it won’t be too long before you have a “tip me up and pour me out” ear worm locked inside your head.

The scores

[wp-review id=”4570″]

Graphics and soundtrack: 2.5/5

The graphics are fabulous and there’s no complaints there. It is just the music being on continual repeat; over time that snippet of soundtrack will slowly drive you to click that mute button.

Originality and creativity: 2.5/5

The slot isn’t really hugely original as it is based on a game show. The two key features of the slot are nice, but not really groundbreaking.

Play value: 2/5

Unless you hit the bonus round, this can be a rather expensive game to play as even regular base game wins usually see you out of pocket over time as the wins are generally smaller than your wager.

Jackpot potential: 2/5

You can win up to 2000x your line bet on Jeopardy!, but in review we hit nothing like that. And on most free spins, where you have a chance of a big win, we ended up with just 2x to 4x our original wager.

Disappointing, to be honest.

Repeat play: 2/5

If you are a fan of the show or of 40 payline slots with 5×4 reels, then you’ll stick with Jeopardy!, but for other slot fans I think it is a slot that has a limited shelf life.

Total score: 11/25

A disappointing score for a slot that could have been so much better. Perhaps it would have been better as a standard 5×3 slot, with easier to follow paylines and better base game payouts.

Main image credit: s_bukley / Shutterstock.com