Showbiz Slots - Life in Tinseltown Ain't Easy!

I like slots. The two times I found myself in an actual casino, I was quite happy to spend several hours at the penny slots. Seriously. Five bucks at the penny slots will keep me entertained for a looooooooong time. ^_^

Thus, Pogo's Showbiz Slots is pure win in my book.

Win!!! Oh. I'm not winning in that photo...

The max bet is 5 tokens, but overall you will come out ahead. The first time I played it I started with about 6k tokens and I ended with over 20k.

Pay table for the max bet (5).

To keep things from being ye olde "click click click," there also is a little story that unfolds one panel at a time. Showbiz Slots is about Betsy Chiffon, a country farm girl, and her attempt to become a famous actress. Included are skeezy agents, scheming rivals, and an incredibly forgiving boyfriend.

Okay, so it's not the best plot ever. But as you progress through the story you'll pop a piece of popcorn.

When you reach the 7th piece you've finished the story and you'll get a bonus of 1,000 tokens! It will take a while to get through the whole thing. I didn't time it, but it definitely took over an hour of spinning.

Luckily, the chat rooms are pretty lively. ^_^ The community on Pogo seems to be a lot friendlier than iWon. (Probably because it's easier to connect and chat with one another.) I made several friends just by joining in the conversations. Woohoo!!

In addition to winning tokens, Showbiz Slots is a Progressive Jackpot game with a max pot of $4,999. Pogo doesn't post the odds of winning any of their games, so it's safe to assume the odds are horrific.

Final Rating: 4 out of 5 stars. The game is fun, but Pogo has several slot games with various storylines. It's unlikely that I'll stick with any story for a long time.

The Method in my Madness

(Sorry for no game review today. Life got a little busy! New review tomorrow.)

Other than playing games and praying I win the Jackpot, I'm also getting into a daily routine. Right now I'm only working with Pogo and iWon, but more will be added in the future. For now, this is what I do each day.

Pogo ~ Buy 10 tickets for the daily, weekly, and monthly sweepstakes.

iWon ~ Enter the Pick 7 contest. Use my free spins for Prize Machine and Spin 2 Win. Buy 10 tickets for the daily, weekly, monthly and yearly sweepstakes.

If you'd like to friend me my name is MiraHopes2Win for both games. ^_^

Lottso Express - Leave your worries behind!

We're going to take a break from iWon's games and check out one from Pogo. (Site review will be later. Sorry!)

I played Pogo some time ago and one of my favorite games was Lottso Express! In looking for a new game to review I decided to try it again. And yup, it's still addictive. ^_^ Lottso Express! is a mad cross between Bingo and scratchcards.

Lottso!! Oh, I didn't win yet? Dang...

You start with a 6x6 grid of numbers and 30 balls. You get 30 more balls each time you reach a score goal. (Five goals total.) As you play you'll occasionally get 6 extra balls. In truth, I haven't figured out what triggers that. It seems random. @_@

Like Bingo, you score points whenever you get 6 in a row. It's 25 points for a single Bingo, 100 for a double, and 300 for a triple!

Anywho, the 6x6 grid is *further* divided into 6 boxes. (You can kind of see them in the picture.) When you fill one box a scratchcard will pop out.

In this pic three boxes are filled, so three scratchcards popped out. Now, once those cards are scratched and you hit "Refill," the boxes that you completed will flip over, and you'll get a new box to play. This one will be the SAME SIZE as the number of cards you turned in. Once you fill in this new card *another* scratchcard will pop out. But this time it will be the size of the *new* box you completed.

On the left here is a Super Lottso scratchcard, which you can only get by clearing half of the board. On the top right is a Lottso scratchcard, which you can only get by clearing two boxes stacked together.


This is a Mega Lottso scratchcard! To get it you must complete the ENTIRE board and then complete the second board that pops up.

Finish this to get the Mega Lottso!!

If you can reach the Mega Lottso scratchcard, rejoice! If you're lucky you can earn crazy points here. How? Well when you get to the top you have a 1 in 3 shot of getting to play a new Mega Lottso card! It's possible to keep playing the Mega Lottso card over and over and over before you bust and head back to the 6x6 grid. I've earned as much as 11k points from this one scratchcard!!

This is an untimed game, so relax and enjoy! I like to try to get 2 triple Bingos each game if I can. And I ALWAYS try to get the Mega Lottso card. I'm not a quick Lottso player, but I enjoy the change of pace. ^_^

Lottso Express! is a Progressive Jackpot game on Pogo, with a max pot of $4,999. If you get to the 3rd goal you will earn ONE spin. No more.

Unlike iWin, you are guranteed to get something on a Pogo Jackpot spin. It's usually more tokens, but I still prefer that over 10 spins with nothing but "Sorry!" for my effort.

Reality Check:
The odds of winning Jackpots are not posted for Pogo. Assume that they are terrible. ^_^

Final Rating:
This game sucks hours away and leaves me happy and relaxed. Definite 5!

But you don't have to take my word for it! On August 19th 2010, Pogo posted a bunch of reviews that players made about Lottso Express! More opinions are always better, so feel free to share your own thoughts. ^_^

Updated 8/19/2010 to add the above paragraph.

Collapse - AHHHHH!!!!!

The research for this post (game playing) and the writing of this post were done with a sleepy kitten in my lap, who insisted on shoving her nose in the crook of my arm whilst purring most vigorously.

There. I saved you a trip to cuteoverload today. ^_^

iWon's Collapse is a click-3-make'em-vanish game. You start with three different colors of bricks and get a forth color as you progress.

Collapse on iWon games

I always die on lvl 9, so I have NO idea how many total colors there are.

When you see 3 (or more) bricks of the same color together, just click on them and they will vanish. But you have to be quick, because more lines are added at the bottom of the screen while you play. If the blocks reach the top it's game over.


To help you clear blocks quicker, there are also bombs. The black bombs will take out a HUGE chunk of blocks near it. The colored bombs will take out ALL of that color brick on the screen. But you have to click *exactly* on the bomb for it to work. If you have a blue bomb that's touching 2 blue bricks, then touching either of the bricks will "use" the bomb as a 3rd brick, and they'll all just vanish. No extra blue blocks will be removed. :(

If you manage to clear the entire screen at any point, you get a bonus of 10,000 points x the current level.


No bonus points for leaving one block on the screen. :(

This game is quite addictive and can really get your heart pounding. The first levels often feel a little slow, but it speeds up fast! Starting around lvl 7 I constantly hear my inner-voice excitedly shrieking that I'm going to die. ^_^

The all-time high score is over 20,000,000. My highest score is 370,148. (Scroll up! Screenshot!) I have NO idea how that people score in the millions. I want to think that they're cheating, but alas, I must admit that they are just better than I am at Collapse.

iWon Collapse is a Progressive Jackpot game with a max pot of $2,000. I usually get 5+ spins per game.

Reality Check:
The odds of winning the Progressive Jackpot are "no worse" than 1 in 20,000,000.
The odds of having an ER-worthy accident involving a bed, pillow, or mattress are 1 in 537.9.

*Eyes bed cautiously*

Final rating: 5 out of 5 stars. ^_^ I just keep coming back to this game!!

Pie Oh My - Yes, please!

After yesterday's disastrous encounter with Drip Drop Sudoku, I was thrilled to find a new (for me) game on iWon that I really like. ^_^ Let me introduce you to Pie Oh My. (Which for some reason I keep calling "Pie in the Sky.")


It's not very complicated. You catch the fruit and avoid the veggies. As you catch more fruit your pie shell gets bigger, the fruit/veggies get bigger, and everything starts going a LOT faster. And pretty soon you see something like this:

I was aiming for the purple root. I'm not sure what it is, but I know the game says it's a fruit. Darn carrot got me....

Anywho, this is a perfect example of a simple concept that is well executed. I find myself giggling whenever I die, but then I hit "play again" and give it another shot. ^_^ It's a wonderful game for when you're feeling brain dead. Probably not so great a game to play if you're feeling sluggish or are experiencing a lot of lag.

iWon's Pie Oh My is a Progressive Jackpot game with a max pot of $2,000. I usually get 5+ spins each time I play so you can expect to get a lot of spins with this one.

Reality Check:
The odds of winning the Progressive Jackpot are "no worse" than 1 in 4,000,000.
The odds that a household will call the Butterball Talk-line the day before Thanksgiving are 1 in 12,990.

Mmmm.... Thanksgiving turkey and pies.....

*Ahem*

Final rating for this one is 5 out of 5 stars. Woohooo!

Drip Drop Sudoku - No Thank You

Ah... iWon Drip Drop Sudoku, how you fail! Let me count the ways.

1. Your beginner and expert levels are EXACTLY THE SAME. (30 spaces to fill in. No more. No less.)

Beginner above and Expert below. Can you tell a difference?

2. Your beautifully designed water droplets make it hard to see what numbers are already filled in. I kept having to go back and correct mistakes because I could not quickly and accurately see what numbers were already down. (For the record, I've never had this problem with any other Sudoku games.)

3. For the first time ever, I encountered unsolvable Sudoku puzzles. I would be left with two pairs of numbers that could fit in two different ways without any conflict. The only way to find out which one was correct was to guess. Sudoku is not supposed to be about guessing!!!!!

4. The "erase all" button doesn't have a confirm. Considering it's proximity to the "erase one" button, this is a Bad Thing. I was near the end and made a whoops cuz I couldn't see the dang numbers, and instead of grabbing the "erase one," well... You get the idea. Starting all over is annoying.

5. If for some reason I felt like playing this fail Sudoku again, I had to reload the entire game over and sit through ads *again.* Why oh why isn't there a replay button like there is on every other iWon game?

So yeah.. I don't like this game one bit. Sure it's pretty, but it has more problems than any Sudoku game I've ever played. I will not waste my time on it again. But for the masochists out there, here are the final details.

iWon's Drip Drop Sudoku is a Progressive Jackpot game with a max pot of $2,000.

Reality Check:
The odds of winning the Progressive Jackpot are "no worse" than 1 in 1,000,000.
The odds of having an ER-worthy accident involving a pogo stick are 1 in 115,200.

Sadly, Drip Drop Sudoku has the best odds of winning a Jackpot thus far. But I would rather play other games.

So I shall. ^_^

Final rating: 1 star out of 5

The Hunt for a Better Template

I'm searching all over the place for a template that *fits* better with the blog and my writing style. No luck so far. :(

Anywho, don't be surprised if things change several times before I find what I like best. ^_^

Mahjongg Dark Dimensions - *Turns on a Light*

I saw this one listed under the "popular" section and thought I would give it a shot. And wow... I see why people like it!

iWon took the classic Mahjongg game and twisted it. Tiles are cubes this time, and you can turn the entire puzzle to see what's on the other sides.

Level 1 of Mahjongg Dark Dimensions

You start with 2 minutes to complete the puzzle. The dark purple count-down blocks will add 30 seconds to your time if you can pair them before they reach 0. Any time left over will be all that you have for the NEXT puzzle, so you better move fast!! So far I've gotten to the 4th level and then I kinda freeze.

Level 4 of Mahjongg Dark Dimensions

See? I totally had 46 seconds there, but my brain said, "BYE" and went on break. Dangit. One day I'll get to the 5th level. One day!! *Shakes fist at the sky.*

Mahjongg Dark Dimensions is a Progressive Jackpot game with a max pot of $2,000. So far I've gotten 10 spins every time I play, which is fun. ^_^

Reality Check:
The odds of winning the Progressive Jackpot for iWon's Mahjongg Dark Dimensions is "no worse" than 1 in 20,000,000.
The odds of having an ER-worthy drinking fountain accident are 1 in 220,700. Drink carefully!

I rate Mahjongg Dark Dimensions 5 out of 5 stars. It's challenging, yes easy to play. I keep coming back to it! ^_^

3 Point Shootout - What? No guns?

I'm about to admit something really embarrassing. I actually thought this was a minigame about shooting guns. Not a basketball minigame. Whoops.

3 Point Shootout on iWon

Sadly, I did far better on this game than I do with actual basketball. I say, "sadly," because I scored no higher than a 34. *Blushes* The game liked to taunt me by scrolling "My Grandmother Shoots Better" at the bottom. It made me laugh. ^_^

Anywho, you throw basketballs at a hoop. The red/black/white ball is worth 3x as many points as the others. After a few seconds the hoop starts moving back and forth across the screen. It's entertaining. ^_^

You win 4x your score in iWin coins. So for my awesome 34 I scored 136 coins. I'm rich!!

I also got a pity spin at the Progressive Jackpot. It maxes out at $2,000. There also is a Prize Pop game triggered if you happen to score 10 baskets. The prize for winning that is $50.

Reality Check:
The odds for winning the Progressive Jackpot for 3 Point Shootout are "no worse" than 1 in 20,000,000.
The odds for winning the Prize Pop game for 3 Point Shootout are "no worse" than 1 in 50,000,000.

You have a better chance of winning the Jackpot than to win $50 in the same game. That's just weird.

Although I completely sucked at this game, I really had fun. ^_^ The graphics were amusing and sharp, and it was very quick to play. I'll play this for giggles, but not for coins.

3 out of 5 stars.

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21 Blitz - Maybe If I *Was* Blitzed...

This is basically the 21 card game laid out in a grid instead of in straight lines. Those of you who like 21 games may appreciate the extra challenge in working with a grid.

21 Blitz on iWon

As for myself.. I'm terrible at it. :( I never made it past the second round with this game.

21 Blitz has a progressive jackpot with a max pot of $2,000. After you finish the game you're given several spins for the jackpot. It seems to be that 500 points = 1 spin, with a max of 10 spins possible for each game.

Reality Check: The odds of winning the jackpot for 21 Blitz is "no worse" than 1 in 8,000,000. (Official rules and not-fun stats.)
The odds of getting struck by lightning in the USA is 1 in 750,000. (I'm not making this up!)

I rate this game 3 out of 5 stars. I probably won't be coming back to it unless I get REALLY bored.

Good luck! ^_^

iWon ~ Site Overview

iWon games is a pretty typical free-to-win site. You earn iWon coins and then use them to buy entries in sweepstakes. iWon coins are earned in four ways.

~ Play the games. Duh.
~ Invite friends via email. (Ask before spamming!)
~ Use the Ask search engine on the page.
~ Complete sponsor offers.

It's not that hard to earn coins just by playing the games. You don't need to pay real money or annoy your friends just to have a shot at winning! Seriously!

iWon coins can be used to buy entries into sweepstakes. They have daily ($100 prize), weekly ($500), monthly ($1,000), and even a yearly ("up to" 1 mil) sweepstakes. This is the only use for iWon coins so don't be afraid to spend them.

Also, most games have a "Bonus" game that can be triggered during regular play. The prize may be a small item or up to $2,000 cash. (Woot!)

Now, for the games... *Rubs hands together eagerly*

iWon has a neat tiered gaming system. You start at Copper level and the more iWon coins you win, the higher your rank will go. As you increase in rank you get access to more games with (hopefully) better odds of winning $$.

Before you can play a game you first have to watch 15 seconds of ads. After that you can play the game several times before an ad will play again.

All of the games on iWon are single player, but you can challenge your friends on facebook! You also can friend people on iWon and team up with them for competitions. I haven't done this yet so I can't comment on how it works.

MiraHopes2Win is my name on iWon. Friend me, please! ^_^

*Ahem*

You can also earn badges for hitting certain scores in different games. No extra bonus for the badges. It's just something fun. ^_^

There is an option during signup (and in the side bar) to join the iWon insider team. It unlocks all of the games and has a few other bells and whistles. I haven't checked it out because it looks like an add-on to me, and I *like* unlocking the games.

On the front page there also is a large link to WorldWinner games. Be aware that to win any cash on that site you must PAY real cash first. It's a completely different website and format from iWon.

Overall I like the iWon site. It's fairly simple to figure out and the only pop-ups are from the actual games. Individual game reviews will follow later. ^_^