Fruit Machine Simulator - Commodore 64
Publisher - Codemasters
Price at release - £1.99

Fruit Machine Simulator is the first fruit machine game from Codemasters. Released as a budget title, it allows 1-4 players to invest up to £1.20 at a time into a representation of a 1980s pub style fruit machine. Similar to many fruit machines at the time, it has 3 reels with symbols and numbers on them. Payouts are received for matching the first 2 or all 3 symbols. Wins can be collected or gambled with a risk of losing your win offset by the chance of increasing it based on luck.

The numbers on the symbols are added together and light letters of the word CASH-BASH. Lighting all 9 letters allows you to randomly select one of 4 features which offer a cash pot, a nudge pot, a skill climb or an auto win. The cash pot allows you to stop a flashing light on a number of 10p coins followed by the chance to gamble some or all of them on an odds or evens style game. Nudge pot is the same but awards the ability to nudge a reel 1 space per coin lit until a win is achieved. Skill stop allows the player to use their timing skill to rise up a ladder of increasing value coins by stopping a light at the top of each column and auto win will automatically spin to a win of matching symbols.

When a player uses up all of their credits, their winnings are banked and play passes to the next player if more than one person is playing. There is also a party pot which increases at random intervals and can be won by matching two party time symbols. This prize is maintained between rounds and resets after it has been won. Control is by joystick or keyboard and involves moving a hand across the buttons at the bottom of the machine.

Reviews

Commodore User - February 1988 - 6/10 - "Full marks then to Codemasters for authenticity .... I strongly suggest that no-one tries to bring out a perfect copy of a fruit machine until fruit machines get more interesting."

Zzap!64 - Issue 35 - March 1988 - Overall 18% - "A tedious and pointless time-killer."

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