Vinyl Countdown has a very retro feel to it, the game taking inspiration from the music scene of the decades when vinyl records were still in power and when rock and roll was still in its beginning stages. With an Elvis look a like on the reels, with disco balls, jukeboxes and neon letters on one hand, while about half of the symbols show off different types of ice creams and cakes, it’s an interesting mix and a pretty cool game that results from it. This particular slot comes from the developers that work for Microgaming.
You’re getting the basics from this modern slot machine, both in the number of paylines (9 used on 5 reels) and in the features (a scatter and a wild). As for the biggest prize available, it’s only at $2,000.
Features of Vinyl Countdown
The vintage feeling that you get from the features is enhanced not just by the small number of lines, which is usually indicative of a simpler slot machine, but also by the lack of big features, as the game has only a wild symbol and a scatter, nothing more.
The Jukebox Wild will be used only to help you with the forming of combinations that normally wouldn’t have been possible. This is achieved whenever a wild lands in a position where another symbol would’ve triggered the formation of a combo. The wild takes that role and you get paid. It’s as simple as that. The wild offers no prizes of its own in this case, though other slots give away the top jackpot with its help.
The Disco Ball Scatter is another important element of the game, though not as useful as it is in other slots. In this case it offers cash prizes, nothing more, but it does this from various random locations where it appears. The game counts how many of these Disco Balls are on the reels, and pays you whenever at least three are there. The prizes vary between 10x and 100x the wager.
Betting options and jackpots
The betting is easy enough to do. You have 9 lines, and in order to activate them you have to use up to 9 coins. You don’t have the option to increase the number of coins per line, so you change the coin’s denomination to modify the line bet (between $0.25 and $2). If you decide to max out the wager, you can spend up to $18.
The game is not that big on prizes, offering you a 1,000 coins jackpot, which means $2,000, not a penny more.
Design and symbols
The game gives you the impression that the action takes place in a diner, with the two main characters enjoying various types of ice creams and dancing on the jukebox music. The hero is a bad boy, an Elvis look-a-like, while the girl is a very proper lady in the way she dresses. You get the retro vibe here, and it can make the game a lot more appealing, despite the lack of impressive features.
Symbols: Jukebox (wild), Disco Ball (scatter, 100x bet), Elvis Wannabe (900x), Preppie Girl (700x), Dancing Couple (500x), Wingtip Shoes (300x), Banana Split (250x), Ice Cream Sundae (200x), Waffle (150x), Cream Caramel (100x) and Milkshake (50x).
Is It Worth Playing?
The retro inspiration might be a good enough reason to try it out, but looking at the top prize and the features I’d have to recommend you skip it if that part is of no interest to you.
The Vinyl Countdown slot machine is offered through the Microgaming platform, so if you want to play it for real or just to practice, look out for casinos that use it.
