Baywatch is a slot machine from Playtech that was created with an official license, using real photos of actors that played in it, plus a number of other images that involve items that the lifeguards would use while on the job. The game’s design is a bit behind the times, so it’s not going to compare well if you look at recent slot machines. On the other hand, when you have pictures with Yasmine Bleeth or a young Pamela Anderson among the symbols, who could complain?
The 5 reels of Baywatch get up to 20 bet lines. The designer of this game is Playtech. In order to keep the game interesting, they’ve used free spins, scatter symbols and wilds. The prizes available inside go up to $150,000, but the wagers tend to be on the high side as well.
Features of Baywatch
There are a lot of things to love about the feature system in place in Baywatch. You get the stacked wild symbol, the scatter, the free spins it triggers and the additional features that are available for the duration of these free rounds (frozen wilds, multipliers and extra spins). Add to that a bonus game, and you get the full picture.
Pamela gets the main role, acting as both the wild and the symbol that can give away the jackpot. She appears as a regular wild on the 1st and 5th reels, while on the other three she appears stacked and capable of occupying the entire reel. The two symbols with extra roles can’t be substituted by a wild symbol, but all regular symbols can take advantage of it. When the wild gets its own combinations going, rewards of up to 3,000x are offered (the top jackpot).
The lifeguard station is the slot’s scatter. What this means is that the symbol can appear in random positions on the reels, the result being always the same, a prize if at least two of them are around. The prizes get better than the initial 1x multiplier for two scatters, with 150x offered for five of them.
Free Games Feature
The lifeguard station scatter is also responsible for the start of the free spins. 3+ scatter symbols get you both the prize and a round of free spins. A total of 12 rounds are awarded.
While the free spins are in use, you can get one of the three lifeguard characters to appear on the 3rd reel and cover it completely. If that happens, you get a reward, an extra feature that it triggers.
Caroline Holden, the character played by Yasmine Bleeth, gets you an additional 6 spins for free, plus a x3 multiplier. If Matt Brody is the one making an appearance, you also get an extra 6 spins for free, plus this symbol as a frozen wild. Finally, we have the blonde Neely Capshaw, with 6 additional spins and an increased multiplier.
Rescue Feature Bonus
The Rescue alert symbol is a bonus icon that can show up on the 5th reel. When this symbol makes an appearance, it will trigger the bonus game for you, where you can make a choice between the two features inside.
The first one is called CJ Parker Respin, where you get a free re-spin with 2 to 4 random wilds placed on the reels. The second feature is called Lifeguard Mini Bonus, where you have to find three matching lifeguard symbols that are hidden in the sand. A total of 15 hidden symbols exist.
Betting options and jackpots
It’s not a cheap slot, not if you’re going after the biggest prize possible, as you will have to place bets of up to $50 per line, or $1,000 total. These line bets use only one coin, but its denomination ranges from $0.01 to $50. Though you would have fewer chances to get the big prize, you can use fewer paylines as well when you make your bets.
The $50 line bet translates into up to $150,000 in the top jackpot, the equivalent of 3,000 coins (offered for five wild symbols forming a combination).
Design and symbols
The theme of the game being based on the famous Baywatch, they decided to use real pictures of the actors that played in that series, so you get another chance to see characters like the one played by Pamela Anderson, which is actually the main attraction of the game. There are some water themed symbols as well, like the water splashed playing cards or the jet skis, but a decent portion of the paytable is occupied by the lifeguard symbols.
Symbols: Pamela (wild, 3,000 coins), Lifeguard House (scatter, 150x the bet), Red Board (500 coins), Lifeguard Boat (200 coins), Jet Ski (150 coins), Ace (100 coins), King (100 coins), Queen (75 coins), Jack (75 coins), 10 (50 coins) and 9 (50 coins).
Is It Worth Playing?
Thanks to the collection of features that is involved, with quite a bit of variety and surprises to discover during the free spins, plus the prizes of up to $150,000, I’d recommend this slot to fans of the TV series, but I wouldn’t expect gorgeous graphics out of it.
Baywatch, the TV Series
Baywatch, though it was a huge name in the 90’s and a popular TV series to watch back then, it didn’t start out as a big success. It was cancelled after just one season, being initially released in 1989. It was revived in 1991, Hasselhoff believing that it still had merit and it was worth pursuing. It had a lot of success on its second run, continuing to air until 1999. After that, a second version appeared, until 2001, called Baywatch Hawaii.
The star of the show was Mitch Buchannon, a lifeguard character that was played by David Hasselhoff. The lifeguard team that he led was at the center of the show’s action. Involving quite a bit of running on the beach, the show had a number of attractive actors in it, one of the reasons why it was so popular. Among the beautiful women that played lifeguard characters here you will find Pamela Anderson, Alexandra Paul, Yasmine Bleeth and Erika Eleniak.
You will find Baywatch at any online casino which chooses to use software from Playtech, playable either for free or for real money.
