Merry Poppings - Random singing not included.

I REALLY thought that with a name like, "Merry Poppings," Slingo would make some sort of tie to Mary Poppins. Alas, they went with a carnival theme. (No idea why.)

Merry Poppings is a match-3 game with balloons. This means that as you pop balloons, the remaining balloons will float UP. If you've only played Bejeweled the whole up-instead-of-down may be a little disorienting. ^_^

There are two different ways to play Merry Poppings.

1. On the Midway ~ Survive 10 increasingly difficult levels and you win!
2. The Sideshow ~ You start with 100 moves and see how long you can play. Timed or untimed modes available.

For some odd reason Slingo is very secretive about the rules. You have to start playing the game in order to find them at all! And there are a LOT of things they don't even explain.

Aren't you glad you have me to help? ^_^

I'm going to focus on On the Midway, because it lays out the special balloons one at a time. Notes for The Sideshow will be at the end.


On the Midway

Level 1: We begin! This is where we get the *basic* rules.

Is that a rat or a dog?

Note that you can move balloons out of the side columns if need be. To be honest, I never found that to be terribly useful, but I did try it out a few times.

In this screen your goal is shown at the bottom. For level 1 you need to pop 80 balloons. For ALL ten levels you will have only 20 moves to accomplish your goal. (At level 10 you need to pop 400 balloons!)

This may seem impossible, but it isn't. For any move you make you will lose 1 move. But you can get moves back in the following ways.

• Make a match of 3 = +1 move
• Make a match of 4 or more = +2 moves
• Make a combo = +1 move for each chain in the combo

I had plenty of moves for the first 6 levels. I rarely had to "waste" a move by getting a balloon in place for a match 3.

Level 2: And now things start getting more complicated.

Stoppers act like regular balloons in that you can switch them and they float upwards. They aren't true "stoppers," really. More like "minor annoyances."

Getting them in a row/column usually takes more moves than it's worth, so just work around them. It was only at level 9 that I actually had enough on the board to easily make columns out of. When you remove a line of stoppers you earn +3 moves, so it's worth the trouble if you need 3 or fewer moves to complete a line.

Level 3: Multipliers!

Unfortunately, multipliers aren't nearly as exciting as they sound. You get 100 points per match of 3, so a 2x multiplier (the most common one) gets you 200 points. Weeeeeee. I couldn't tell how they affected combo scoring because I never got a multiplier IN a combo. *Sigh*

I also never saw a 10x. Best I saw was 5x.

Can you tell I'm not impressed by them? Anywho, enjoy this level while you can because it has the most multipliers in it.

Level 4: Bonus moves!

 Arf?? Seriously?

As previously mentioned, you probably will have an over-abundance of moves until you reach level 7+. Therefore, you'll find the majority of  bonus moves balloons in levels 4 thru 6. You can't carry over the extra moves from one level to the next, but you WILL get bonus points for each move left at the end of the level.

 

Level 5: Fire!

Is that a flaming pyramid??

I like how the balloons are filled with "propane and propane accessories." Are the accessories matchsticks? Did they include that line to avoid getting messages from propane fanatics, worried that people will think propane can self-ignite?

We may never know.

But the propane balloon is probably my favorite. ^_^ It's really fun to make a match and see a little fireball shoot through the column. Ka-pow!! And just so you know, they WILL burn through stoppers (yay!!) and multipliers (booo!). So uh, look before you light.

Level 6: More special balloons.

Sounds like the illusion balloons are hard to spot, right? And really, really rare?

I spy with my little eye...

The idea of being able to transport a specific ballon to anywhere you want is kinda neat. But in reality, I never used the feature. It was much easier just to match them with nearby balloons. Just look at that picture. Out of the 4 illusion balloons out there, only ONE can't be immediately matched up.

This would be a great feature in the later levels, but of course then they are few and far between.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Moving the illusion ballon at all will use up it's special power.

Level 7: Pop! (Isn't that the point?)

Aww... poor sad balloon, all grey and broken. :(

In this game a "large chunk" equals 2-3 balloons popping randomly around the board. It can be Very Good or Very Bad. Just keep an eye out on any combos you're trying to build.

Level 8: Color-wonder

We made tie-dye shirts in science. Best class ever!

The tie-dye icon will appear over a regular balloon, just like the illusion or propane symbol. If you want to make the balloon be another color you have to double click it and it will change. Not the right color? Double click it again. Still not the right color? Double click it again.

The two times I used this feature, I accidentally clicked past the color I wanted. Doh.

While I'm not sure why they didn't just *make* the balloon apply for all colors, the clicking actually helped me see some matches that I would have missed. So I can't thumb my nose at the tie-dye balloon too much. ^_^

Level 9: Eek!!!

Half-gassed balloon doesn't try hard enough.

Omg, what?? Pop a half-gassed balloon and you LOSE a move for each balloon popped?? So like, 3 moves erased for a match-3? That's insane!!!

Yup.

I was so terrified of this balloon that I didn't pop ANY of them the first time I played. By level 9 I was hoarding my moves, and the thought of losing a bunch of them at once was scary!!

Then I started writing this review up, and realized that uh... I didn't have a good idea of what the balloon actually did. Which meant I had to play up to level 9 again. Dangit.

It turns out that this balloon really isn't scary at all. If you make a match with it you just don't earn any moves back. So basically it's a "wasted" move, except that it will probably clear some much-needed space. I have no idea what they mean by "lose a move for each balloon popped," cuz nothing like that happened to me.

Level 10: *Cue triumphant music*

Wow... that looks really cool!!! I wonder what happens when you get those balloons together!

Seriously. What happens? I reached level 10 twice and I never got these special balloons together. I don't *think* they have to be the same color because I never had a positive and negative balloon of the same color on the board at the same time. These balloons are freakin' rare

Oh, and here is a peek at level 10. It seems they just decided to throw a bunch of stoppers at the board and call it a night.

Stop! In the naaaaame of luuuuuv!

I'd made one move on that board. (It was a match 4.) Remember, on the 10th level you have to pop 400 balloons! The first time I played (and was still avoiding the half-gassed balloons) it took me 24 minutes to complete level 10. The second time I played it took me 16 minutes. It's tough!

Once you finish level 10 you can sit back and enjoy the rain of Slingo coins!

 Woohoooo!!!!!

The Sideshow

This is basically one long level for you to play with. "Special" balloons are included, but they are uncommon. I played both timed and untimed, and they each have their good sides.

Untimed
Pros: Nice, leisurely pace. Good for starting out and learning the balloons.
Cons: I got bored.

Timed
Pros: No boredom here! The ticking clock keeps you on your toes.
Cons: COMMERCIAL BREAKS BAD!!! The commercials aren't a problem in untimed or On the Midway, but here? It's terrible! And any bonus time you had on the clock is gone, so you have to make matches quickly until you have banked time again.


Tips and Tricks

• Unless you're playing the timed version of the slideshow, slow down! There is NO undo button, so look before you move! 
• If you want to make a lot of accidental combos, make matches near the top of the board. When the balloons float up they will automatically pop if they make a match 3 or more.
• If you want to be careful, make matches near the bottom of the board. This will keep you from moving too many balloons too fast and accidentally messing up a match.
• I like bulleted lists! ^_^

Final Rating

This game has a lot of potential. But there are *so* many special balloons that they end up being underutilized. I enjoyed the challenge that lvls 9 and 10 provided, but it took so long to get there that I was starting to get tired of the game. It would be nice if you could just pick what level you want to start with.

But as it is right now? I'd say it's 3 out of 5 stars. The good aspects balance out the bad, and it's a pretty fun game overall. ^_^

A New Leaf - A new reason to keep plants outside.

Today's game is pretty simple. No elaborate story needed to explain it.

Hey... stop cheering! That's rude. :P

Anywho, today's game is A New Leaf, from iWon games. You're shown a bunch of leaves and when you mouse over them, they flip over. There are all sorts of bugs under the leaves, but you're looking for just one - the black fuzzy caterpillar!

Awww!!! Can I pet it?

When you find the leaf with the black fuzzy caterpillar, just click the leaf and you'll be taken to the next round.

If you are arachnophobic you may not enjoy this game, as there are spiders under some of the leaves. I'm an arachnophobe and the picture squicks me out a little, but it's not terrible for me.

*Shudder*

Yes, I shrunk the pic to reduce the odds of freaking someone out. The game board itself will not change sizes while you play. ^_^

The first 15 rounds are easy. You have 10-15 seconds to find which leaf the has the caterpillar, and there aren't a ton of leaves to search in the first place. Then suddenly it goes to this:

HUH?!?!

From level 16 on, you have 21 leaves and four seconds to check all of them! Basically you run your mouse across the rows as quick as you can and look for a glimpse of the caterpillar. This is not an easy task! Do not blink or you'll miss it. Best of all, since there's no pause option and you move directly from one level to the next, you can expect to see GAME OVER very soon.

Dangit!

So far my best score is 2,400. This is a surprisingly tough game! I want to like it because the concept is interesting, game play is fast, and the graphics are pretty.*^_^*

Unfortunately it has some major flaws. Considering how difficult this game is, the payouts are absolutely terrible. I rarely earn over 100 coins from A New Leaf. They also are pretty stingy with the jackpot spins. So far the most spins I've gotten in A New Leaf is two.

Also, whenever I play I find that I'm completely alone in the chat room. This isn't a popular game, probably for the two reasons listed above.

If they increased the payouts and/or added a "click to continue" feature between rounds, this would definitely be a better game.

Reality Check
A New Leaf has a progressive jackpot with a max pot of $2,000.
The odds of winning the JP are "no worse" than 1 in 1,000,000.
The odds of a man in the US being named John are 1 in 30.57.

Final Rating
I'll give this one a solid 2 stars out of 5.

Stack 'em - Genetic engineering at its best.

It's been a long, long day patrolling Area 52. Then you get the dreaded call. The only farmer left in the area (and the only one who has a cloning machine) is having "issues" with his animals again. With a sigh you turn down several dusty roads until you come to the farm famous for its "cube meat."

Farmer Fred meets you at the gate and flaps his foot impatiently as you get out of the car.

"It's about time you got here!" he yells. "Those blasted animals won't play by the rules!"

This announcement sparks a dozen questions in your head. You ask the main question first.

"What rules, sir?"

With strong thwack against a signpost, Farmer Fred says, "These rules!!"

This oh-so-helpful sign sparks even more questions from you. "Save the farm? What's wrong with your farm? How is matching animals going to help? And what will you have to start over?"

Fred thwacks the sign again. "None of that don't matter. The tourists is supposed to help *me*! But the animals got a different idea in mind. Jus talk to 'em." Without waiting for a reply, Fred heads to the barn. As he walks his feet flap loudly and you realize that his shoes are thin as pancakes. Being near Area 52 causes lots of problems, but flat feet is a new one, even for Fred.

"Fred? Uh...."

Without looking back Fred says, "Dropped a stack of cows on 'em. Those buggers may be small, but they're HEAVY."

O_O

The barn is in an uproar. Feathers, fur, and wool are everywhere. "Ya see?" Fred demands, pointing at the chaos. "They won't play right!"

One of the chickens overhears and clucks out, "Bwaat? You're the buc-buc-bucawcheat!" She tugs a piece of paper out from under her wing and tosses it to you. "Here! This is whaat we agreed to!"

A sunny day in May, a group of adventurous furry farm animals found a funny hole in the farm's fence. They got so excited and soon decided to take a chance and jump through the hole for an adventurous day in the free.

Help the animals on their farm escape day by matching them in groups so they disappear- Houdini style. If too many of them fall over the fence, the farmer may notice and lock them up.

"Who.... who wrote this?"

An intelligent looking (albeit cubic) sheep clops over. "You see, good sir, Farmer Fred has had overwhelming success with our cloning. Too good, in fact. In order to continue farm life in some order we all," he nods to the animals and Farmer Fred, "agreed to let a third party intervene."

"That's right," Fred grunted. "We called Pogo for help."

The sheep speaks up again. "If we follow the rules the farm will be saved. But tourists are supposed to help US, not the farmer!"

"No they're not! They're suppose to help me!"

Smelling trouble, you quickly interrupt. "Are there more rules?"

"Of course!" says the sheep as he nudges a thin book toward you. "Here's the rest of what we got."

"So... both of your rule books are the same after the first page?"

Man and sheep nod yes.

"And the only difference is who the tourist *thinks* zie is helping? The outcome is still the same?"

Man and sheep slowly (and sheepishly) nod yes again.

"What's the problem then?"

Farmer Fred frowns and flaps his foot. "It jus ain't right! Helpin' animals escape?"

All of the animals turn toward him. With a flurry of tiny feathers, the chicken clucks, "We're cuh-cuh-CUBES!!!"

And that was the end of that. Farmer Fred decided to let the animals *think* that they were escaping. Turned out that they reappeared at a.... well, you can decide for yourself.

When I visited the farm I tried the game too. And I found there were more details not contained in that little rulebook. In case you ever want to go back, here's what I learned. ^_^

First off, you can stack the animals level with the fence. But they can't go OVER the fence. It warps the space-time continuum or something.

Second, this is NOT a timed game!!! The dial to the left tells you how many moves you can make before a new row of cloned animals spits out at the bottom.

• Green = 4 moves
• Yellow = 3 moves
• Orange = 2 moves
• Red = 1 move

It *seems* that if you make a chain reaction you can get an extra move. But it didn't always seem to work. Test it and let me know what you find!

Just remember that there is NO rush. Take your time. And if you don't like what you just did, flip the UNDO switch that's just below the dial. (Warning: UNDO will not work if you just went up a level or completed the game.)

I also found that sometimes one of the animals.... would change. (Farmer Fred said it was a result of over-cloning.) Sometimes they became a bomb.

If I matched the bomb with other animals before the next wave of clones arrived, there would be a big explosion and a bunch of the animals went to... a happy place. ^_~

I saw bombs a lot, but couldn't always use them. That was annoying. My FAVORITE was when an animal became a popsicle.

Popsicles are VERY rare, but if you match them with other animals of their kind, they freeze the dial up! I could make five more moves before the next wave of clones arrived!

The five extra moves was niiiiiiiiiice. ^_^ I suggested to Fred that he start air conditioning the yard, and he looked at me like I was an idiot.

Don't you look at me that way too! He has a cloning machine and makes animal cubes, for cryin' out loud!

This game has 6 levels. Once you get to level 2 you get a ball with a star in it. On level 3 you get a 2nd ball, and so on until lvl 6. If you manage to stay alive that long and match the balls up, you win!!!

Farmer Fred has this Jackpot Wheel thingie too. If you finish the game you get a spin! So far all I've gotten are Pogo Tokens, but he says you can win up to $4,999!! It all depends on how long it was since the *last* person won the cash prize.

Final Rating:
Overall I'd rate this game a 3.5 out of 5. The story around it is weird, but the game itself is well made. Since it isn't timed it's really more of a puzzle game than anything else. Good for when you want to focus on something but not stress out.

However, I found myself getting a little bored. I played all three difficulty levels several times over, but it just didn't challenge me enough.

Winster - Guaranteed prizes. Seriously!

Winster is completely different from the game sites I've been reviewing. When you play Winster games you still earn points. But instead of using the points to buy avatar items or gamble on sweeps tickets, you use the points directly for prizes! Prizes range from $5 certificates for the Winster store up to a $25 certificate for Amazon.com.


IMPORTANT: You cannot win cash on Winster. There are no huge jackpots to hitch your dreams on. What Winster offers is a guaranteed prize of your choice. And honestly, that is probably more than you will get from *most* game sites.


I'm making this sound all dull and dreary, but really it's very fun. ^_^ Although Winster offers a smaller range of games, the games are all played cooperatively. Yahtzee Party! and Boggle Bash are cooperative games, but Winster goes far beyond that.

Each day you'll be given 200 spins. You pick your game and you'll be ushered to a room with up to 4 other players. Whichever game you pick will have a pay table to show you which combinations are valuable. Then you spin to get pieces. Pieces may be cards for poker, numbers for Sudoku, or even a toppings for a burger! (Depends on the game, of course.)

Now, here is the cool part. ^_^ You can trade the pieces on your board for pieces that other people have!! This is the best way to play, because when you help other people out they will help you score better too. Some high scoring combinations are nearly impossible to create on your own. But when everyone works together it's very smooth and simple.

If you help others consistently you may be rewarded with extra spins. I usually get 50-70 extra spins each day just for helping!

So, how long will it take you to earn enough points for a prize? Well..... it will be a while. The cheapest prize takes 1,000,000 points. Playing for free I rarely get more than 10,000 points a day. On the upside, when you make an account they start you off with 700,000 points. That helps!

If you refer a friend and they sign up, you'll get a 10,000 point bonus. 25,000 points if you're a member!

If you feel impatient you can opt for their membership options. On EVERY membership level you get 4x the normal points and access to membership-only rooms.

• Basic ~ $4.99 a month. 300 daily spins.
• Silver ~ $7.49 a month. 500 daily spins and a 100,000 point sign up bonus.
• Gold ~ $9.99 a month. 800 daily spins, Winster mousepad, and a 100,000 pt sign up bonus.

From what I can tell there are no annual passes, which is a shame. In my opinion the membership prices are pretty high for what you get. However, when I play I see a LOT of people as members, so they must enjoy it. ^_^

You can also purchase a day pass for 99 cents. You'll get 300 spins, 4x points, no ads, and access to members only rooms. Or if ads bug you then the ad-free week might be worth the $1.49.

Your avatar consists of a smiley face and you can pay to buy different hats for it. Also you can "decorate" your profile with icons that cost between 99 cents to $1.99.

Personally, I only shell out money if I really LOVE a game. And even then I'm cheap. *Sheepish grin.* For me the 200 spins a day is enough, especially since I play so many other sites too.

The strong cooperative feature in Winster games means that the community is pretty strong. People are very friendly and quite helpful! If you're confused or stuck just ask for advice. Someone will help you out. ^_^

In summary, Winster is a great little game site, and it's nice to know that you *will* get a prize if you keep playing. But the social aspect seems to be the most attractive feature for many players.

Quick-Draw Poker - It's a good thing!

Let me be honest here. I am a terrible poker player. I don't keep track of statistics and you can CLEARLY tell when I think I have a good or bad hand. (The jumping up and down is what tips most people off.)

Well, I guess that makes me the kind of person you would want to play poker with, so you could take all of my Money. Jerk. :P

Anywho! The above reasons are why FREE video poker is perfect for me! It doesn't matter if I jump up and down with glee or not. No one is there to see me. ^_^ And since it's free, I won't lose a thing! So let me introduce you to my new friend, Quick-Draw Poker.

You can play Quick-Draw Poker on Gamesville, and I highly recommend it! It's easy to play and you can earn oodles of GV's from it!

And uh... in the interest of full disclosure, sometimes I have to open the pay table during the game so I can remember what things are worth. *^_^*

 I'd like a Royal Flush, pretty please!

If you've never played poker before, here is a quick explanation of the terms. If you're a video poker pro just skip on down to the Prize Stuff. ^_^

• Jacks or Better ~ A pair (two of the same cards) of either Jacks, Queens, Kings, or Aces
• Two Pair ~ Two pairs of ANY cards. Could be a pair of 7's and a pair of 3's. Doesn't matter.
• Three of a Kind ~ Three of the same card, like three 10's.
• Straight ~ Five cards in numerical order. For poker that order is: Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace. Yes, the ace counts as a high or a low card.
• Flush ~ Five cards of the same suit. The four suits are: Diamonds(Red), Hearts(Red), Spades(Black), and Clubs(Black.) 
• Full House ~ Very simple. This is just a pair + three of a kind. Two 5's and three 9's would make a Full House.
• Four of a Kind ~ Four of the same card, like four Jacks.
• Straight Flush ~ As the name implies, this is a Straight and a Flush combined. The cards have to be in numerical order AND all be of the same suit. For example, if you had the 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 all in the hearts suit, that would be a Straight Flush.
• Royal Flush ~ If you have the 10, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace of the same suit, that's a Royal Flush.

So, how do you play Quick-Draw Poker? Well, you start with five cards and you pick which ones you want to keep. The kept cards are copied into the "empty" hands. 

When you're ready to draw, hit the DEAL button near the bottom. (I cropped it out of the pic! Sorry!!) The computer will deal you cards for EACH HAND separately. It uses a different deck for each hand so you may end up with different scores for each one.

In this example I saved the Jacks and bet the max. I ended up with

4 Hands with just a pair of Jacks = 40 points
1 Full House = 60 points
1 Two pair = 20 points
1 Four of a Kind = 150 points

Total = 270 points!! Not bad for one round! But unless you're dealt a good hand to start with, you're more likely to end up with something like this:

It isn't a terrible return, but 5 out of 7 hands didn't win me anything. That isn't as fun. (I'm a little greedy.)

Of course, the best is when all 5 cards are awesome to begin with. ^_^

Hmmm.... What should I keep?

I didn't have enough time to get a 2nd screenshot of the results, but I kept the flush. The guaranteed 350 points (50 x 7) was too awesome to turn down. ^_^

Now, you may have noticed the little clock in the upper corner of the pics. This is indeed a timed game! You have 20 rounds to play, and each round lasts about 13 seconds. This is plenty of time to pick your cards unless you get distracted. Not that I ever get distracted...

*Chases a butterfly*

Anywho, you are also competing against everyone else in the room. The person with the TOP score gets double the GVs!! And while I'm not a great poker player, I did manage to hit 1st place once.

 Pics or it didn't happen!

Everyone is dealt the same starting cards. But what you each get after hitting DEAL will be different.

Now, what is my non-professional method? It's pretty simple. ^_^ I look for whatever will take the fewest cards to win. This is what I would keep:

1. Any pair - Need one more card to make it three of a kind!
2. Jack, Queen, King, or Ace - Only need one card to qualify for Jacks or better
3. A 4 card flush - If I'm dealt 4 clubs I'll give it a shot. Just need one card to make it a flush!
4. Double ended straight - This is what I call being dealt something like a 4, 5, 6, 7. Getting either a 3 or an 8 would turn it into a straight, so I have more options. I try to avoid attempting to get straight out of something like a 3, 4, 5, 7. For that to become a straight I *have* to get a 6, and my luck is rarely that good.

If I happen to get, oh, a 10, King, and Ace of hearts I may keep 'em and hope for a Royal Flush. No luck so far, but that's the fun of free poker. It doesn't hurt to gamble and lose. ^_^

Prize Stuff
Beyond the prize of GV's, there is a Progressive Jackpot for this game. The pot starts at $5 and maxes out at $100. Gamesville doesn't post the odds for winning their games, but from talking to the rooms (and looking at the dates for previous winners) it appears 1-2 people win the JP every day.

This is the benefit of playing games with smaller pots. More people get to win! ^_^

And though I haven't won anything yet, here is what it looks like if you win the JP for Quick-Draw Poker.

Cuz I have a golden tiiiiiiiiicket...

I don't know if you can get this on the redeal or not. When I win I'll let you know. ^_~

One nitpicky thing - Whenever you join a new game you'll need to change the bet to MAX immediately. It will remember your bet as long as you keep playing or keep the window open. When you leave just remember that you'll need to hit MAX the next time you play. Several times I've jumped into a game, been dealt an AWESOME hand, only to get pitiful tokens because I forgot to change my bet. :( Sad day.


Final Rating
The rounds are fast, the GV's are great, and I love winning multiple hands in one go. ^_^

5 stars!

Vaults of Atlantis Slots - St. Paddy's Edition!

*Reads the pic.* Thrills guaranteed!! Sweet! Oh, and Pogo decided to make it St. Patrick's day themed. Ordinarily there aren't clovers, rainbows, or leprechauns in Atlantis. Just go with it for today. ^_^

This is another slot game from Pogo, but it's completely different from Showbiz Slots. Atlantis Slots has 5 reels instead of 3, and no story unfolds as you play. You can bet up to 9 lines with 5 tokens per line. Max bet is 45 tokens per spin.

I can haz Jackpot?

There is a small scatter bonus. Any time 3 or more of the "SCATTER!" icons show up you'll earn bonus tokens.

In addition there is a short minigame. Each time you get 3 (or more) of the stone chests in a row the minigame will open. You'll be shown a series of 7 chests and you get to pick 3 (or more) chests.

Shinies!

Inside each chest is a number of extra tokens. Select which ones you want and hope for the best!

60 tokens. Yay.......

Each time you finish the minigame your little dude will advance one doorway at the bottom.

A wee one is he!

When he gets up the stairs a final minigame will trigger.

Hmmm.... Which one should I pick?

Each panel hides a token amount or a shark. As long as you find shark-free panels you can keep on clicking and the bonus multiplier at the very top will increase. But as soon as you find a shark it's game over. There are 3 sharks and 9 panels, so your odds aren't great to begin with.

Once this minigame is gone your little dude is booted back to the very first door and you have to work your way back to the stairs again.

On the regular board you may notice what look to be stone carvings of sea creatures in the 4th and 5th wheels. I haven't figured the point of the carvings in the 4th wheel, but if a stone creature lands on the middle row in the 5th wheel, you lose any potential payouts for that turn. Oh, and a creature will come out and chase your little dude, which is cute to watch. ^_^

Sounds like a fun game, right?

Well, there is one MAJOR failing in Atlantis Slots. The payouts are crap. I spent well over an hour getting pics for this post. By the time I was done I was *maybe* 1,000 tokens richer. Winning was rare and often wasn't enough to cover my bet. That's far less than thrilling in my book.

On the upside, if your sole focus is the Jackpot you can place the min bet and qualify for the JP. Just don't forget to bet 9 lines!

Vaults of Atlantis Slots is a Progressive Jackpot game, with a max payout of $4,999. Odds of winning are not posted, but you can safely assume that the odds are terrible.

Final Rating
2.5 out of 5 stars.

This isn't a terrible slots game, but it isn't a very good one either. If you've played it, let me know what you think! And please, PLEASE have a safe Paddy's day!

Gem Drop - Why reading the rules is helpful.

I played Gem Drop on iWon several weeks ago while looking for games to review. I played a few rounds and got bored. (All you do is match 3+ gems and they vanish. Gems fall from the top. Yippee.) The game was SO simple that it couldn't hold my interest at all, and I wanted to fail just so the game would be over. 

My top score was 282,000, which I figured was pretty good.

Yesterday, I came across Gem Drop again. I figured that I'd comment about how I didn't like it just so I could cross it off my list and be done with it. But first I had to play it again so I could get screen shots. Last time I didn't read the rules, because I figured it was just a match 3 sort of thing. This time I read what I was supposed to do.

And that's when I discovered I'd been playing it wrong. The goal isn't to keep a clear board or make as many matches as possible. The goal is to make chains, so that when a group of gems vanish they will trigger a cascading reaction of vanishing gems. The amount of points you get with each chain increases exponentially.

Check out my new high score. ^_^

Boo-yah!!

Yeah. I added nearly 6 million points to my best score. O_O I also got over 68,000 coins for that game!!

Trying to make chains can be quite challenging. Several times I thought I had things set up nicely, only to discover that really I'd just made a mess. It seems that I'm not nearly as clever as I think I am.

Not an example of a chain.

You get more points with bigger groups of gems. *Try* to set up groups of 4+ as often as you can. Diamonds are worth more than the other gems. *Try* to set them at the end of a chain, so they will get the biggest bonus.

There is a dark grey round stone that will drop every now and then. When it lands on top of a gem, it will remove ALL of that gem from the board. Very very useful in higher levels! No bonus points for letting it hit the bottom.

As the levels progress things start getting really chaotic. Starting around the end of level 8, I had troubles visually keeping up with the gems. By the time I realized what gem was about to drop, it had fallen and so had two more.

In addition to the insane speed, Gem Drop has another hair-pulling feature that I've yet to see in any similar game. And that is:

The dropping gem(s) aren't put on hold when a chain reaction is set off.

This means that you have to drop gems while your board is shifting. In the first few levels it's a little disorienting, but still No Big Deal. Once the speed picks up it becomes more of a nightmare. I can't decide if I like the added challenge or if I prefer my sanity instead.

It's a toss up.

Gem Drop is a Progressive Jackpot game with a max pot of $2,000. You will most likely get 10 spins. ^_^

Reality Check
The odds of winning the JP for Gem Drop are "no worse" than 1 in 3,000,000.
The odds that an adult will dress up as a cat for Halloween are 1 in 40.

Keep that in mind for next October!


Final Rating
Once I understood the rules, Gem Drop became a LOT more interesting. ^_^ But the controls aren't as smooth as I would like and that can cause frustration.

I will probably tackle this game once in a blue moon, just to see if I can beat my high score.

3.5 stars out of 5.

Bingo Zone - *Insert spooky music here*

There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is the middle ground between golden daubs and empty cards. It lies between the pit of despair and the highest peaks of hope. This is the dimension of invigoration and addiction. It is an area which we call- the Bingo Zone.

Admit it. I get mad cool points for that intro. ^_^

The Bingo Zone is located at Gamesville. The concept is pretty simple, especially if you already play Bingo. ^_^

You're given three Bingo cards to play. All three cards will have the SAME shaded pattern on them. The pattern changes each game, so look closely! To win the game you need to complete the pattern on any one of your cards before someone else wins, or before they stop drawing balls. After 40 balls are drawn the game is over and you get a commercial break. If no one has won then the pot will roll forward.

If you want a better shot of the board, just click on the picture and you'll see the full-size version of it. The purple marks are my normal daub. The gold daubs are bonus, which I'll explain in a bit.

When a new game is about to start, you'll first get a chance to enter the bonus game. All you do is pick three numbers. If those numbers are drawn during the game just type DBB in the chatbox and you'll win an extra 500 GV Rewards!!

DBB stands for "Dickie's Bonus Balls." I kid you not.

Once the game starts you have to stay focused. There is no helpful listing of the last 5 numbers called. (Eek!) On the call board the most recent number will be blue, and then turn grey once the next number is called. Golden balls will stay gold on the call board.

Each new number will be on the screen for about 8 seconds. That sounds like a long time, but when you're scanning 3 cards it can tick away pretty quickly. Add in the phone ringing, pets/kids running around, or your significant other asking a question, and suddenly you are Lost Big Time. It's like they don't understand you're playing Bingo, fer cryin' out loud!

For this reason I recommend playing only when the house is empty and the phone is unplugged. ^_~

You may recall that there were two different color daubs on my card. That reflects the two different color balls that are drawn.

The "regular" ball color is blue. (Oh good lord.. the jokes I could make!) You don't get any extra GV rewards for daubing numbers that aren't part of the pattern if a blue ball is drawn. *Bites tongue.*

Here you can see the pot, pattern, and the ball... color....

The golden balls are special! You get 50 GV rewards for EACH one that you match to your cards. It doesn't have to be part of the pattern. Check your entire card to be sure you don't miss these!

Gold = AWESOME!

At the end of the game all of your golden daubs are totaled and you get your bonus!


Some rounds you will score better than others. You can't pick what numbers are on your cards, so you just have to hope for the best.

And boy... this game is GOOD at getting your hopes up! The pot is small because people win often! Seriously!

The pot starts at $2 and goes up $1 after each non-winning game. You can see on the bottom left corner who was the last person to win. The biggest the pot will be is $25, but it's still fun!


Final Rating:

This game is an emotional rollar coaster for me, but I love it. ^_^ 5 stars!