Arcader is a fruit-themed 15-payline video slot operating on the Thunderkick software platform. The wild symbol is the letter W, the Expander symbol expands the reel it appears on and the Bonus symbol, which is the scatter in the form of the letter B, triggers Free Spins. Players are welcome to try the slot on this page for free or visit any of the Thunderkick casinos found in the listings to play the game for real money.
To spin the 8-bit-like reels filled with diverse fruit symbols, players should first decide on their preferred wager. Pressing “Bet” chooses the coin size, ranging from 0.2 to 100. “Spin” initiates the game and “Auto Play” turns the reels for a preset number of times uninterrupted.
3 scatters trigger 9 Free Spins played with a x1 multiplier, 4 scatters award 9 Free Spins with a x3 multiplier and 5 scatters grant 9 Free Spins with a x9 multiplier.
Players can acquire 1 sticky wild chance on the 3 central reels with every Free Spin. The sticky wilds remain sticky for the entire Bonus game.
Mystery symbols, the letter M, trigger the Mystery game. 3 M symbols lead to the Mystery game played at a x1 multiplier, 4 Mystery symbols result in the Mystery game with a x2 multiplier and 5 M symbols trigger the Mystery game with a x6 multiplier.
Game Play
Bet: Pick the preferred wager.
Spin: Start playing the game at the selected bet.
Autoplay: Play the slot for a predetermined number of times uninterrupted.
Retro gaming has become a huge phenomenon over the last decade or so and it's now at the point where a huge portion of the population have childhood memories of playing old school computer games and crave a little of that retro action for a nostalgia fix. Hundreds of insanely popular youtube channels have sprung up to fill this demand as well as retro games shops and even shows on the big TV stations such as the recent "Go 8 Bit!" so it's no surprise that we're starting to get slot machines in this crazy retro style as well.
As far as I can remember Arcader is the first attempt I have seen from a major slot provider, but I'm sure it's not going to be the last! Considering Thunderstruck's usual modus operandi is super flashy 3D graphics with limited gameplay I would imagine that this game represented something of a challenge for them, but I think they did really well!
The graphics are pretty much what you would expect with the symbols being made up of big blocky pixels. I think it looks great though and the quick "Great!" and "Nice! popups that appear on the screen after a decent win are a welcome change from the long and boring "Big Win!" animations in other games. I also love the way winning combinations are highlighted after each winning spin and the sound effects fit in with the action really well.
The game has two features, the first of which is a basic pick me round with a small twist in that more than three bonus symbols will award a multiplier to each of your picks - as high as 9x for five of a kind. Like most of these bonus rounds it can be extremely frustrating if you pick the wrong item straight away and get kicked out of the bonus immediately, but some decent sized wins are possible if you make several good picks in a row with the 9x multiplier active.
The free spins are where it's at though of course, and there's even some sticky wilds available too! At the start of each free spin one spot from the central three reels will be zapped and a sticky wild added. It's possible to get a wild in all nine spots but this is unlikely as the game can pick the same spot again even if there is already a sticky wild in place there, meaning you gain nothing. In general though you tend to end up with around five sticky wilds by the end of the free spins most of the time and wins under 30x stake are very unlikely in my experience.
I really enjoyed playing this game, I didn't even find myself reaching for the mute button after playing a few hundred spins on it which definitely makes a change for me - the music on most slots drives me crazy! This has to be one of my favourite Thunderkick games so far and I definitely recommend it.