The Park of Zoltan
Zoltan machines were fortune telling entertainment that was often seen in funfairs and amusement parks, although not so much now. Software by Red Rake Gaming brings Zoltan back with all the fun of the fair to many online casinos. The Park of Zoltan provides players with a game of bingo for fun plus great quality rewards a theme park setting with great sights and sounds included.
The intro scene whisks players on a quick trip around the screen to show the fun fair with popcorn and candy stalls, hot dogs and fairground rides. To give the full gaming experience, ambient sound is added of a real theme park with lots of laughter, screams of delight and crowd chatter. The screen has the all-important bingo cards on the right hand side of the screen. These are 5 by 5 bingo cards with a star in the middle with 24 numbers on each card. If you’re not sure the numbers are the right ones for you, it’s simple to click on one of the cards and change them all. Although the default is the maximum 4 cards, players can turn them individually on or off.
The More the Merrier
Most gamblers prefer to play as many cards or tickets as possible when playing online bingo to get the best chance of making the most use of the numbered balls. With 15 ways to win, these are listed on the left side of the screen and are shown as patterns with different prizes. It's a nice addition to the design that by placing the cursor over these patterns, it will transpose them temporarily onto the bingo cards to make them easier to view. The centre of the screen is where the main play happens.
When the play button is selected, 44 different numbered balls are released into the catch area. The numbers are marked off the cards automatically and any prizes awarded. If a pattern is not quite formed, all is not lost as the machine will offer ‘extra’ balls. These are played one at a time should you choose to buy them. A duck shoot opens up with 10 plastic ducks with the balls behind them. There are three ways to shoot the ducks and release those lucky balls, either by clicking directly on the duck, on the price that is displayed on the ball extractor, or the ‘extra’ button. All of those will reveal the extra ball.
The Power of Zoltan
If Zoltan is feeling generous he will grant wild and free balls. The wild balls are great for marking off a much needed number on the cards. Whatever stake is bet, players will need to bear in mind that it is split between the numbers of cards being played. The designers have made this easier to keep track of as each card has its bet shown along the top. For a single card, bets can be as low as 0.05 credits to 15. Playing all 4 cards will raise it to a max bet of 60.
Two other additions to tailor the game are the turbo and auto buttons. Both are really self-explanatory with the auto button even playing the extra balls if set up to do so. The developers have tried to make the game as intuitive as possible to get by without needing a lot of extra info, but for anyone who is unsure there is an info button that details how to play.
Back to Basics
If duck shoots and roller coasters aren’t your cup of tea, then free Bingo 10 by Novomatic might be more up your street. It's a no frills game but with plenty of thrills to boot. It has the similar square shaped 5 by 5 bingo cards, but whereas The Park of Zoltan changed all of the card numbers by clicking on the one card, clicking on these will only change one card at a time. It doesn’t have a fancy theme, just a simple green background and a few bright colours here and there, on the game logo and the balls.
It has a 44-ball release mechanism with 8 patterns of ways to win. Extra balls can be bought to help secure wins and there is also a lucky talisman to bring you luck by clicking onto the icon to the right of the giant ball. We liked the lucky cat waving to us as we played. If you want to win really big, try playing for the big jackpot for making bingo using all of the 44 balls, it’s a good sizable pot to grab making your cash out a joy.
The Future to Be Told
We really enjoyed The Park of Zoltan with its use of ambient sound to stir up happy memories of being at a real theme park. The ducks are cute as they quack when shot to reveal the extra balls. Although we used the play for free option, it’s a feel good game with a solid design and clear information available if needed.
This game should suit all levels of player skills and keep those who wish to play with real money happy. Although there was no special bonus rounds included, it wasn’t a feature that was missed as concentration could be kept on watching the balls and matching wins. If bingo is your game, then Zoltan will be waiting for you to bring you your fortune.
