Why Pragmatic Play slots are instant classics

Can Pragmatic slots hold their own against games from more established providers? That’s what we’re gonna find out in this review of OJO’s best Pragmatic Play slots. But the short answer is YES! The Malta-based game studio is the Ben Stokes of slots. The Stevie Gerrard of gaming. A talented all-rounder destined for super stardom and a place in slots history!

Play on…

Who are Pragmatic Play?

Founded in 2015, Pragmatic Play is a major supplier of online gaming software to PlayOJO and many other (far less interesting or generous!) sites.

Pragmatic have always specialised in online games such as the slots you’ll play online at PlayOJO as well as bingo, live casino games, progressive jackpots, video poker and more.

Like the Games Global, IGTs and even Red Tigers of this world, their mission is to be the global leader in their field. The company believes innovative, regulated, mobile-focused games are the way they’ll get there.

Pragmatic Play is currently led by CEO Deependra Bhartari, a former bwin party director who took over in 2017. The company has over 200 employees across offices in Gibraltar, Malta, London and Manila. They’ve also got development and operational offices in Belgrade, Bucharest, Hyderabad, Kiev, Noida and Zhytomir.

Pragmatic has been granted a number of licences to develop games in most major jurisdictions by regulators like the UK Gambling Commission and Malta Gaming Authority. Their games are tested for fairness and randomness by Gaming Laboratories International, Quinel and Gaming Associates, and responsible gaming is also big part of their ethos.

For a relatively new developer, Pragmatic have already picked up more than their fair share of awards too, and once you’ve played any of their games, you’ll know why.

Wolf Gold™ won Best Slot at the Malta Gaming Awards 2018 and Hot Safari got a 2016 Game of the Year nomination

The company itself won Rising Star at EGR B2B Awards 2017, the Innovation in Slot Provision award at the EGR B2B Awards in 2018 and Best Gaming Company at the 2019 MIGEA. Expect to see their name up in lights even more as they continue to regularly release new Pragmatic Games and compete with big boys like NetEnt for global domination!

Play Pragmatic games at PlayOJO

You can play around 50 Pragmatic games at OJO’s place. They’re all video slots and our selection includes the award-winning Wolf Gold plus the first 2 games in the John Hunter series, which might remind you (just a bit!) of the Riche Wilde slots by Play’n GO.

Let’s dig into the design and features of some of our favourite Pragmatic games and see what all the fuss is about!

Slot design

One of the reasons Pragmatic Play have quickly gone from birth to rising star to major player is their attention to detail when it comes to graphic design. Every slot has a superb background, themed reels, interesting symbols and superb audio – the full package!

Their relatively young but fast expanding catalogue of games runs the gamut of themes and characters. Fans of genres such as Fantasy, Aztec, Ancient Egypt and Nordic mythology will find plenty of games to choose from.

Chinese slots like Caishen’s Gold are right in their wheelhouse and make up 20% of their games, though there’s room for classic retro fruit machines like Extra Juicy and the Celtic folklore of Leprechaun’s Song too.

Characters range from pixies, vampires and magicians to showgirls, Atlantis queens, panther queens and adventurers. They’ve a fair few animal-themed games too including Might Kong, Great Rhino, Panda’s Fortune, 7 Piggies and Safari King. A real spectrum of themes then, but the common element in all of their UK online slots is top notch production value.

Slot interface

Pragmatic Play games are instantly recognisable by their simple layout, helpful tool tips and unique spin button. Plus and minus buttons either side of the spin button allow you to easily change coin values, coins per line and total bet. On desktop, hold the space bar for a turbo spin, while on mobile you can hold the spin button.

Many Pragmatic games online start with an info screen which highlights the main features, the maximum possible win and something we’ve never seen before - a handy little volatility meter!

Most of their games use the tried and tested video slot design with a flat reel over a nice background, but games like Joker’s Jewels and Triple Dragons mimic the experience of a real-life slot machine, with 3D rotating reels and flashing lights delivering an unusual sense of realism.

The Most Popular Pragmatic Play Games Slots

The basics

Pragmatic Play slots are mostly the 5-reel variety though they do a good line in 3-reel slots - Triple Dragons, Monkey Madness and Hot Chilli are some of our faves - and the odd 6-reeler like Sweet Bonanza.

Most slots fit into the classic 10-to-40 payline category but we’ve uncovered a few gems at the outer reaches! Aztec Gems is an unusual 3-reel slot with 5 winlines that reminds us of the legendary Gonzo’s Quest slot. If you want more, try 5 Lions (243 Ways), 5 Lions Gold (576 Ways in Free Spins mode) or Queen of Atlantis (1024 Ways).

Betting limits for most Pragmatic games start at around 20p though you can find some that start as low as 7p per spin. Expect big prizes when you play Pragmatic slots with 21,000x on Sweet Bonanza, 48,000x on John Hunter and the Secrets of Da Vinci’s Treasure and a mighty 60,000x on Extra Juicy.

That volatility meter we mentioned earlier is useful for choosing the best Pragmatic Play games for your player profile. Their games range from 2.5 out of 5 to 5 out of 5 on the volatility-o-meter, with higher volatility games paying out less often but (in the short term at least) the wins are larger.

Pragmatic slots RTPs are almost always between 96% and 97%, which is outstanding value whichever way you look at it. Even slots with Single Player Jackpots like Diamond Strike have RTPs of around 96.5%.

Don’t forget your OJOplus either. After every spin on a Pragmatic Play game, you’ll get money back into OJOplus balance which you can instantly move to your account balance and use as you wish. Play it, save it, withdraw it – you’re in charge.

Want to try their games for free? Don’t blame ya! All of their titles come with Pragmatic games demo versions which offer all the features you get in the full fat game.

Pragmatic pride themselves on being mobile-first and a quick tour of their mobile slots backs that up. Thanks to simple interfaces, Pragmatic Play’s mobile casino UK games are easy to play, though it’s the epic action from their multiple slot features that really makes the Pragmatic stand out when you play slots online.

Slot features

Up and coming providers like Pragmatic and Thunderkick are setting new standards for slots which means players demand awesome graphics and features galore. We challenge you to find a Pragmatic Play slot without a bunch of superb features. They don’t exist!

Free Spins are a staple of Pragmatic Play slots but the variety in how they’re awarded, how many you get and what happens once the Free Spins begin takes slot gaming to the next level.

Multipliers play a huge role in their games and pop up all the time in different incarnations. Check out the separate multiplier reel of Aztec Gems which applies a new multiplier to every spin, win or lose. Ingenious! You’ll also regularly come across a multiplier meter which tracks your game progress and increases your running multiplier when you meet certain conditions.

Other features include triple size Mega Symbols, Stacked Symbols, Stacked Wilds, Expanding Wilds and a Tumble feature - seen in their Vegas Magic slot - which combines cascading symbols with increasing multipliers.

They’ve also introduced some innovative ways to reveal features too. OJO’s John Hunter and the Aztec Treasure slot has a wheel which selects the number of Free Spins, while the 8 Dragon slot lets you choose from a combination of Free Spin and Multiplier combos, or a mystery choice.

In their 7 Piggies slot (an entirely different animal to NetEnt’s Piggy Riches slot!), 3 scatter symbols awards 5 Free Spins with a 1x multiplier but a picker game before the Free Spins round can award more Free Spins and bigger multipliers. Many of their Free Spins games come with extra features such as special Wild symbols too.

Pragmatic Play jackpot games

Although you won’t find any progressive jackpots, some of the best Pragmatic Play slots come with fixed jackpots or Single Player Jackpots, as they call them. Each of the games below has either 3 or 4 jackpots which are awarded in a variety of ways.

Some use randomly triggered bonus mini games while some require you to hit a certain number of specific symbols during a base game spin. Give one of them a spin today and check out their game rules to understand how to win.

• Wild Spells
• Pirate Gold
• Panda’s Fortune
• Mustang Gold
• Monkey Warrior
• Great Rhino
• Diamond Strike
• Chilli Heat
• Caishen’s Gold
• Wolf Gold
• 5 Lions Gold

Pragmatic Play Mobile Slots

OJO’s best Pragmatic Play slots

1. Wolf Gold

Their most decorated slot comes with Mini, Major and Mega fixed jackpots plus a whole raft of slot features including Stacked Wilds, Money Respin and Blazing Reels. It’s a beast!

2. Panther Queen

We love this one for its exotic design, extra multiplier reel and expanding Wilds but it’s the killer combo of Free Spins and giant symbols that makes Panther Queen stand out. Big time action!

3. Hot Chilli

Not your average online casino slot! Check out the 3x3 reel format within a bubbling cauldron, the constant possibility of multipliers and an always visible paytable. What will your chopsticks pull out next?

3 Reasons to play Pragmatic Play slots

1. Design: Can’t have great slots without great looks and the whole Pragmatic portfolio meets OJO’s approval!

2. Jackpots: Fixed jackpots add extra spice to some of Pragmatic’s best games, with four-figure wins up for grabs.

3. Features: If you’re not innovating in this industry, you’re falling behind and Pragmatic has countless examples of features or combinations of features that we’ve never come across before.

OJO says…

How often does a software provider get everything right, in every game they make? Never! Doesn’t happen. But Pragmatic Play come as close as anyone to total slots perfection. Hit the OJO slots lobby now and dive deep into their amazing catalogue.

It’s Playtime, chief!