There is no shortage of slots out there that are based on films, including Dark Knight, Jurassic Park, Terminator 2, Godfather, Scarface and a great deal more. However, some of the best licensed slots, as we shall discover, are actually based on TV shows. These are released by most developers, with both online and offline slots available, and whilst there are some obvious ones in there, there are also some less than obvious ones.
Game Shows
These definitely come into the “obvious” category. Many game shows are basically complicated versions of slot machines, and the vast majority are easily transferred into electronic form. Some of the most popular slots in this category include The Million Dollar Pyramid, which is a rather simplified slot released by Playtech, and Deal or no Deal, which is also released by Playtech. Microgaming have a couple of Wheel of Fortune games, and there are also many variants of this, including many bonus games that use the Money Wheel feature, such as those in Monopoly Super Money and the hugely popular Rainbow Riches. Family Fortunes, which is franchised around the world, has also made it into slot form, although this slot isn’t very good or popular.
Ellen
A recent release, and one that definitely came as a surprise, is the Ellen slot, based on the Ellen talk show. This was created by IGT and it is available in a handful of casinos at the time of writing, with more sure to take it on throughout 2015. It is played on a 42 inch touchscreen, using symbols from the show as well as a number of cool features. We have been fortunate enough to play this game and really appreciated what they did they it. We can’t say that we were too excited to get our hands on it when we learned about it, after all, talks shows don’t exactly scream gambling and/or excitement, but we enjoyed it and would recommend it.
American Idol/X Factor
These slots have been going for some point and can be found in offline and online variants. IGT have the rights to American Idol, which is perhaps the better of the two in offline form, but X Factor triumphs when it comes to online play. This slot has some cool features and a twist on base game play which makes for an interesting experience.
South Park
There are two South Park slots, both of which are available in online form and are created by Net Ent. The first of these is simply titled South Park and is the better of the two. This slot comes with 4 different bonus rounds, one for each star of the show. There are also some extra features, including appearances by Mr Hanky, Terrence & Philip and a fat-ass Cartman. This game is simply brilliant and is one of our favorite all-time slots, making it by far our favorite slot based on a TV show. We are big fans of South Park in general, but that has nothing to do with our enjoyment of this slot and we would recommend that you give this a go regardless of what you think of the show.
The second South Park slot is South Park Reel of Chaos, which focuses on the superhero alter-egos of the kids. The “enemy” in this slot is Professor Chaos, played by Butters, and the main bonus round involves fighting his minions and working your way towards a fight with him. This is a great bonus round and a very generous one as well. There are also some other features, including a re-spin round with a multiplier, and rounds that throw numerous wilds onto the reels. Whilst very entertaining and rewarding, we still prefer the original game to this one.
Friends
Like the Ellen slot, this is a fairly new release and one that focuses on offline casinos. Friends first came to air in 1994, and within a year or two it had become the most popular show on television. Within a few years it had already become legendary and was watched around the world. In fact, even several years after the final episode, Friends is still adored by sitcom fans the world over and you can generally find it repeated time and time again on cable and satellite TV channels.
A Friends slot was always going to be a success. We’re just surprised it took them so long to get the license and make the game. This slot was created by Bally Technologies and it was first launched at the Global Gaming Expo, held in 2014 in Las Vegas. It was released a few months later and can be played in the City of Sin, so if you find yourself on the Strip then be sure to check this slot out.
Duck Dynasty
Not quite as popular and Friends, Duck Dynasty is certainly more controversial. Bally Technologies made the decision to license this TV show though and they have since developed a slot based on it. We are not big fans of the show at all, but we have played this slot and we didn’t hate it, which is about as polite as we can be.
Game of Thrones
One of the biggest TV shows currently on air, Game of Thrones was based on a series of books of the same name. It has become a cash cow for the developers, with DVDs, toys and other merchandise all selling like hot cakes, and it was only a matter of time before a slot was released. There are actually a couple of slots out there that use the Game of Thrones brand, with online and offline versions. The online slot was created by Microgaming, who are well known for their high quality slots, and the offline version currently doing the rounds in the biggest casinos, was created by Aristocrat Gaming. Both of these are well worth a play, although the offline game is a little more grand than the online version.