The Argyle game feature

[ChopleyIOM]

This slot is just beyond awful.

I'm currently over 10,000 spins in and haven't yet had a win of over 100x stake, even from free spins (20 free spins at 4x multiplier paid 16x stake!).

It does allegedly have a 5000x stake on the paytable (full set of stacked wilds in free spins with a 5x multiplier), but even that doesn't explain the absolutely dreadful suction that it's capable of.

Horrible stuff.

 

[Casinomeister]

Moved this post to here - it was originally posted to a two year old thread

Carry on.

 

[ChopleyIOM]

Oh OK, didn't seem worth starting a new thread for, so I just searched for 'Argyle' and added to the existing thread.

No problem if you want a new thread though

Latest update, over 12,000 spins on this slot now, and my biggest win remains 80x stake (!!!!).

 

[ChopleyIOM]

How does this work then?......

Just a thought about this slot.

It has three bonus rounds, all of which are triggered by the usual three scatters. They run in sequence, so trigger one is Round #1, trigger two is Round #2, and trigger three is Round #3. Then trigger four is Round #1 again, and so on.

Round #1 is the tee shot, the further the ball goes the more cash you get, prize varies from 25x stake to 65x stake.

Round #2 is the approach shot, closer to the pin the ball gets, the bigger the prize. Pay range seems about the same as Round #1.

Round #3 is free spins. 10, 15 or 20 free spins at 2x, 3x, 4x or 5x stake. Free spins can be retriggered.

Now here's the bit I'm confused about. On the face of it, Rounds #1 and #2 aren't that great, the pay range is clearly capped at a maximum of 65x stake (maybe 70x/75x, but certainly no more than that).

Round #3 should have the potential to go much bigger, 20 free spins at up to 5x multiplier and can be retriggered.

So what's to stop the player simply dropping down to one winline at a single 0.01 coin, getting Rounds #1 and #2 out of the way, and then upping to 40 winlines at their preferred coin size and coins per line for Round #3?

It is possible because when I nearly exhausted my bankroll I just played out the few pence I had left and ended up at a 9p spin (instead of a 40p spin), I got a scatters trigger on a 9p spin (the prize was adjusted accordingly) and it did indeed move to the next round on the next trigger back on my normal stake. (I re-deposited and carried on, I just wanted to make sure I had a zero balance before depositing again in case I had any bonus wagering 'stuck'.)

The other reason I'm thinking about this is that I've now played over 13,000 spins on this slot in the last 48 hours, and must have had the free spins bonus round at least 15 times (probably more), and not ONCE has it delivered a prize of greater than 65x stake - or in other words, what the other two bonus rounds are capped at. (This even held true for 20 free spins at 4x stake, and also when I had a retrigger.)

I am therefore coming to the conclusion that the free spins round on this slot is an 'artificial' free spins round, and can't actually deliver the prizes that appear to be on offer. (A full set of stacked wilds at 5x pay would be 5000x stake, I'm beginning to think that win doesn't actually exist, even though the stacked wilds do show on the reels in free spins.)

 

[ChopleyIOM]

Check out this garbage.

I officially give up on this slot.

About 13,500 spins and my single biggest win was the one shown below - 80x stake.

Absolutely. Fucking. Rubbish.

I'm not saying the slot is necessarily crooked (although it certainly feels like it), but jesus, that's some bad game design right there.

Only Microgaming makes it possible!

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[KasinoKing]

So what's to stop the player simply dropping down to one winline at a single 0.01 coin, getting Rounds #1 and #2 out of the way, and then upping to 40 winlines at their preferred coin size and coins per line for Round #3?

Nothing.
But it doesn't make any difference because you don't know exactly when the features will hit.

The three features are completely independent events, in that once you have had one, you start from scratch for the next.
Unlike slots like Tomb Raider 2, Scrooge or Wealth Spa, you're not actually "saving" anything up.
So changing the bet size has no effect at all. The only bet which is important is the one you are using when you hit the scatters.

My guess would be that the calculated AVERAGE return from completely random free-spins is in the bet x 50 region and so they used that as the "middle ground" for the spread of wins in the first two features. This would even out returns from all three (over infinite spins) and so maintain a constant RTP in all three "phases".


I played this slot quite a bit shortly after it first came out (not even CLOSE to your number of spins though!) and my biggest wins have been x95 & x156 from free-spins and x100 & x128 in normal spins:

Free-spins:




Normal spins:





KK

 

[ChopleyIOM]

So what do you reckon KK, is a full set of stacked wilds possible in free spins?

I understand what you're saying about the bonus rounds being independent events, but if the free spins round does genuinely have the potential to deliver what the game suggests is possible (the stacked wilds appear on all five reels in free spins), then it still makes sense to get rid of Round #1 and Round #2 at a tiny stake, and then go up to a normal stake for Round #3 - as they always go in sequence.

If all three bonus rounds are weighted to deliver total wins in the same range then you're correct, it doesn't matter what stake you're playing at, but that makes the free spins round totally dishonest IMO, as the game itself certainly indicates that five reels of stacked wilds is possible for 5000x stake.

Whatever the case, this slot has properly fucked me off. Back to 3Dice. (Should have just listened to my own advice and steered clear of MG slots.)

 

[KasinoKing]

So what do you reckon KK, is a full set of stacked wilds possible in free spins?

I understand what you're saying about the bonus rounds being independent events, but if the free spins round does genuinely have the potential to deliver what the game suggests is possible (the stacked wilds appear on all five reels in free spins), then it still makes sense to get rid of Round #1 and Round #2 at a tiny stake, and then go up to a normal stake for Round #3 - as they always go in sequence.

Yes, I do think a screen of stacked wilds is possible in free-spins - but do you know how many MILLIONS to one against that is?
No, nor do I!
But it's going to be mega-high.
Even if it only had 30 symbols on each reel (and I suspect there are more than that), the chances of filling the screen with wilds would be 24,300,000 to one!

As you yourself have no doubt found out, it is also possible to win ZERO (or close to it) in free spins - hence my suggestion of how MG might have worked out the pays in my post above. Either way, upping your bet after the 2nd feature is in no way a guarantee of a decent win.
All you can say is the maximum possible win from the free-spins is MUCH higher than from the first 2 features (and the minimum is MUCH lower), therefore the variance in the 3rd phase is much higher than in the first 2.

KK

 

[ChopleyIOM]

Yes, I do think a screen of stacked wilds is possible in free-spins - but do you know how many MILLIONS to one against that is?
No, nor do I!
But it's going to be mega-high.
Even if it only had 30 symbols on each reel (and I suspect there are more than that), the chances of filling the screen with wilds would be 24,300,000 to one!

As you yourself have no doubt found out, it is also possible to win ZERO (or close to it) in free spins - hence my suggestion of how MG might have worked out the pays in my post above. Either way, upping your bet after the 2nd feature is in no way a guarantee of a decent win.
All you can say is the maximum possible win from the free-spins is MUCH higher than from the first 2 features (and the minimum is MUCH lower), therefore the variance in the 3rd phase is much higher than in the first 2.

KK

Ahhh right, I see what you're saying KK, the average win across all three bonus rounds (literally across tens if not hundreds of thousands of triggers) can be the same, but Round #3 has HUGE variance compared to the other two. That makes sense.

TBH I'm more pissed off about lumping over 13K spins through a slot and never seeing more than 80x stake as a win, that's just horrible game design or insanely bad luck, or a combination of the two.

 

[ShayDrew]

Ahhh right, I see what you're saying KK, the average win across all three bonus rounds (literally across tens if not hundreds of thousands of triggers) can be the same, but Round #3 has HUGE variance compared to the other two. That makes sense.

TBH I'm more pissed off about lumping over 13K spins through a slot and never seeing more than 80x stake as a win, that's just horrible game design or insanely bad luck, or a combination of the two.

Hey Chopley,

I have to ask the questions. 13,000 spins? Really? Why would you? I would be bored out of my tree with one slot after 1000 spins (Except Immortal Romance maybe) let alone 13,000 - and if after not ONE bet x 100 or greater in say the first 3000 spins then why another 10,000??

 

[ChopleyIOM]

Hey Chopley,

I have to ask the questions. 13,000 spins? Really? Why would you? I would be bored out of my tree with one slot after 1000 spins (Except Immortal Romance maybe) let alone 13,000 - and if after not ONE bet x 100 or greater in say the first 3000 spins then why another 10,000??

a) I can be very persistent

b) I was getting increasingly incredulous at a slot playing so crap for so long, and was determined to see it out to a decent hit.

Even I gave up after over 13,000 spins, though.

Appalling stuff, and it's the kind of massive extended dead patch that MG slots seem to specialise in....

 

[Tirilej]

You made me want to try it! Not a funny game but at least I got this after around 50 spins.
Didn't get any feature though but I thought it was better to quit when I was up

 

[ChopleyIOM]

You made me want to try it! Not a funny game but at least I got this after around 50 spins.
Didn't get any feature though but I thought it was better to quit when I was up

Well you did better in 50 spins than I managed in over 13,000 spins!

 

[Tirilej]

Well you did better in 50 spins than I managed in over 13,000 spins!

I told you that you were just stubborn and played it the wrong way didn't I?

 

[maxwall]

my best result

 

[ChopleyIOM]

Another 2,300 spins into this slot at 40p play, to take my total to around 15,500 spins, and my single highest win remains 80x stake.

So bad.

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[LaHutti]

And yet you keep going back for more
You sure ARE persistent

I reached your conclusion about this crap game after about 200 spins, and never went back.

 

[ChopleyIOM]

I did actually win on it this evening (albeit not a huge amount), just quite a lot of small wins, and wins in the range of £10-£20, added up over time.

It's a horrible profile for a game though.