Where can we start when describing The Incredible Balloon Machine? It’s one of Microgaming’s more creative offerings, though the premise is far more simple than it looks. You’ll be transported back to childhood parties, blowing up balloons and hoping you won’t pop them, but with the added incentive of winning money too! Should you decide to try out The Incredible Balloon Machine for yourself? Keep reading to find out…

Key features:

Reels: N/A

Paylines: N/A

Min bet: 20p

Max bet: £80

Slot RTP: 96.75%

Provider: Microgaming

Listen for the pop

This slot is very bright and vibrant – it’s definitely visually appealing and is a little reminiscent of the Disney Pixar movie ‘Up’. The background is that of a deep blue sky decorated with white, fluffy clouds floating past, while there’s a lot of what looks like bronze ribbon. It might form part of the mechanics of the machine, which has pride of place at the bottom of the screen. Its meter is quite colourful with red, yellow and green, and there’s plenty going on.

You can hear the sounds of nature as you play, from the wind to birds tweeting in the sky – and of course the balloon machine itself! There’s also some rhythmic music playing, which adds a touch of fun to the game. As a slot, The Incredible Balloon Machine has quite a cohesive theme, as both the sounds and graphics work together to give you an immersive experience.

An unconventional machine

If you’re expecting reels, paylines and symbols, you’re set for a surprise! The Incredible Balloon Machine is completely different to typical slot games, but it’s not too difficult to figure out. Microgaming utilises the Wincrease feature, giving you the opportunity to ‘inflate’ your win. To begin, you simply hold down the ‘Spin’ button, inflating the balloon. The balloon will either pop, present you with a credit amount, or produce a bonus balloon. If you get a credit amount on your balloon, you can either take the win as it is, or hold down the ‘Spin’ button again. This might inflate the balloon further, increasing your potential win, or pop, which will take you right back to square one. Alternatively, it can instead detach the balloon, giving you the original credit amount win. Just press collect before the balloon pops to win!

The Incredible bonus features

The main bonus feature here is the Pick Bonus, which can be triggered when you get a bonus balloon. When a bonus balloon appears, it’ll either pop, leaving you with nothing, or begin the Pick Bonus. It consists of a maximum of eight rounds altogether, and each round presents you with five balloons – they all contain either credit awards or 2x multipliers. You just need to select a balloon to win the prize it presents you with – a 2x multiplier will double your cumulative total from the entire Pick Bonus, so some tasty wins are up for grabs!

However, balloons can also contain ‘Advance’ and ‘Complete’ icons. The former will take you to the next round, where you get to choose a balloon again, while the latter will end the bonus round, and you’ll be back to the base game again. Aside from the Pick Bonus, there’s also a multiplier feature which can trigger randomly – in this instance, any awarded or collected credit amount will be multiplied up to 10 times, before the game will then conclude.

Conclusion

If you want something a little different, but still as fun as you expect, The Incredible Balloon Machine is a great option. The RTP is reasonable and it doesn’t take you long to get used to how this game works. There aren’t a load of bonus features, but when the premise of the base game is so unusual, that doesn’t matter too much – you’re sure to be kept entertained by this unique Microgaming slot.

Provider

Microgaming are one of the biggest players in the industry, with hundreds of games on offer – since being founded back in 1994, they’ve become one of the leading providers. They boast a number of branded slots like Game Of Thrones and Jurassic Park, as well as the likes of Book Of Oz, Break da Bank Again and Mega Moolah. With Microgaming, there’s something for everyone.