Play’n GO slots and casino games provider

Introduction

Like many other software providers, Play’n GO are from Sweden – one of the first countries to realise the full potential of the online casino industry.

Where Play’n GO are a bit different to other well-known software providers is that they’re not set on becoming as big as possible.

The result is that even though they do provide other products and services beyond making slots, it’s slots that they really specialise in and the more they focus on those, the better they’ve become over the years.

Play’n GO Products

Video Poker

Video Poker is a bit of a hybrid in that it combines aspects of the game of Poker, most notably the ranking of the hands, with more traditional casino games. And by traditional casino games, we mean those where players take on ‘the house’, rather than another human opponent.

There are different versions of Video Poker, but the norm is that you receive five cards and you can change between 0-5 of them once. After you’ve done that, the hand you’re left with is your final hand for the round. Some versions require you to just get a pair of Jacks to be in the money, whereas others –those where either Jokers or Deuces are Wild– need you to get at least two pairs for a payout. That’s because the Wilds in the pack increase your chances of getting higher hands.

Casino Hold’em

If you like poker but Video Poker isn’t quite your thing, then why not check out Play’n GO‘s Casino Hold’em?

It uses the same hierarchy of hands as Texas Hold’em does but here you’re going to play against the dealer, rather than other players. On seeing your first two cards, you then have to decide whether to play or fold based on the strength of what you’re holding. In normal play, it’s about beating the Dealer, just like in Blackjack. But if you place an additional bet (known as an AA bonus bet), then the stronger your hand, the more you get paid out, as per the paytable.

Blackjack, Roulette, Baccarat and Video Bingo

These are relatively small fry compared to their slots offering (more about that later) but they all have the Play’n GO seal of quality nonetheless. The first three are something of the “holy trinity” of casino table games and work as you’d expect them to.

At the Blackjack table, it’s all about beating the Dealer. No need to take risks when the Dealer has a poor first card but doubling up and splitting at the right time can certainly pay dividends, so pick and choose when to be aggressive and when to be conservative.

If Baccarat is more you think, then choose if you’re backing the Dealer hand or the Player hand and hope the cards fall your way in order to double up on your bet. This is one of the casino games with the lowest house edge, so offers good value to the serious Casino player. To learn more about Baccarat, check the rules here.

Roulette of course, is a very different animal. Playing red or black, odd or even or 1-18/19-36 makes it almost a 50/50 game as well but those in search of bigger payouts can chance their arm by going with an individual number or a few numbers at a time, in order to grow their bank much quicker. Less chances of winning but far greater rewards.

Video Bingo works in a similar way to the traditional Bingo played at halls all around the world, but with three added advantages that make life easier for the player. You can play up to four cards at once, you can switch cards if you don’t like your numbers and you can reveal all 30 numbers at once, rather than seeing them come out one by one.

Slots

As we’ve hinted already, it’s for slots that Play’n GO are mostly known.

Their portfolio of games isn’t as big as some other providers partly because they’re not as big as other companies in terms of staff and resources. Another reason for this is that they prefer to produce fewer games of a sky-high standard, rather than lots that don’t really cut through the noise.

Play’n GO is also one of those providers that make games that you probably didn’t realise were theirs. Have a read of our review of their best slots and see if you recognise any of the titles.

Play’n GO Slots

Devices and Security

Remember what we said about them keeping up with the times? One aspect of that is that Play’n GO have realised that making slots just with desktop users in mind isn’t going to get them very far in this day and age. So, they decided to sign partnership agreements with the biggest mobile operating system giants such as Android and iOS.

When playing their slots on mobile devices, players don’t need to download anything at all, which in turn means that an app isn’t required. Given that HTML5 technology is used, Flash support is redundant as well.

All of their slots have been tested in-house for hours on end to ensure that they don’t crash and that everything works as it should. The slots have then been further tested by independent agencies monitoring aspects such as the slot’s RTP and functionality.

Free-to-play games

With a chunky selection of slots to choose from, you can’t play them all for real money. Or you could but it might not be particularly wise. Therefore, at Mr Green you can try out any Play’n GO slot to your heart’s content in free-to-play mode.

Playing without using real cash means you can check out all the different themes and storylines from among their portfolio of games. Or see how the slots compare with each other in terms of bonus features and graphics. You could also make your own little short-list of the ones you do wish to play for real money in the future.

Either way, trying them out in free-to-play mode first is certainly the smart move.

Slot types and themes

Making slots isn’t just about big payouts, cutting edge graphics and great storylines. Though of course, all that stuff certainly helps! It’s also about having the imagination and creativity to come up with varied and unique themes so that there’s something for everyone in terms of what players want.

In Play’n GO’s portfolio, there are seasonal-themed slots such as Merry Xmas, Chinese New Year, Easter Eggs and Xmas Joker and then there are action ones that are as much about the adventure as they are about the payouts, for example, Rich Wilde and the Pearls of India, Sails of Gold and Rich Wilde and the Book of Dead.

If it’s more of a party mood you’re seeking then you might wish to turn your attention to the likes of Samba Carnival and Spin Party.

Or how about some Irish themed-games to bring out the Guinness-drinking, St Patrick’s Day celebrating Irish person in you? You got it. Try slots such as Irish Gold or the somewhat more obscure Leprechaun goes Egypt.

More in the mood to show off your sporting prowess? Dust those golf clubs off and get your swing in order before playing Gold Trophy 2 or find the back of the net in style in Golden Goal.

And speaking of gold, here are a couple more: Golden Ticket and Golden Legend. Though if it’s sparkling diamonds you favour over gleaming gold, maybe Lucky Diamonds or Mermaid’s Diamonds are more your things. Like we say, there’s certainly something for everyone.

RTP

A reminder that RTP is short for Return to Player and tells you how generous a game is. Not in terms of maximum payouts (that you find out elsewhere by looking at the game’s paytable) but in terms of what the average payout is in proportion to the amount of money that’s played on a slot.

The RTP of a slot is generally between about 90% and 99% with slots coming under the latter category always making a significant fuss about how high their RTP is, as a way of marketing the game. The higher the RTP is, the more the slot pays out on average.

Players should be aware that if they invested a relatively small amount of money like 100 Euros on a slot with an RTP of 95%, they should not expect the slot to return exactly 95 Euros. Only in the long run that RTP will stay true, with the cash paid out to players being proportional to the game’s advertised RTP.

RTPs of slots are a way of comparing oranges with oranges. If Game A has an RTP of 98% and Game B has an RTP of 95%, Game A is likely to give you a higher return.

To the casual player, this isn’t a particularly big deal, with the excitement and entertainment value being more important factors. But for the more serious slots-player, it makes the world of difference.

With all that in mind, here are some of the Play’n GO slots with a higher RTP: Rage to Riches (97.12 %), Piggy Bank (97.03%) Ring the Bells (97.03%) and Gem Drop (97%) And these would be the ones equivalent of your mate who conveniently has to leave to go home every time it’s their round at the bar: Tropical Holiday (91.9%)and Jolly Roger (94.98%).

Special features

If you’re expecting Play’n GO slots to have totally unique bonus features or in-game strategies that no one else has, you’re going to be as disappointed as someone who wanted a Manchester United short for Christmas and got a Manchester City one, instead. If it’s innovative bonus features you want, try NetEnt slots, if it’s in-game strategies, then give for instance Elk Studios slots a go.

Their main bonus features tend to be the free spins rounds, such as that found in (Rick Wilde) Book of Dead, re-spins (like those found in Spin Party) or pick’em rounds, which you can come across in the likes of Leprechaun goes to Egypt. If it’s cascading reels that get you out of bed in the morning, then Golden Ticket has those.

Most of their slots have five reels and use the Wild symbol to substitute for other ones to help you win, so again, they’re hardly reinventing the wheel.

They were, however, true innovators in that they were the first provider to make games specifically to be played on mobile.