Jester Introduction
Jesters have a firm place in history for their role as entertainers in the British monarch’s court, although there is evidence they were also popular with the pharaohs of ancient Egypt. During the middle ages, they were key members of the court; now, the vividly-coloured clothes, huge shoes and hat decorated with bells they were known for can all be spotted when playing Jester, one of the fun free pokies available from Intervision Gaming.
The game’s backdrop features an atmospheric street festival, with traditional thatched houses and locals wandering the streets just visible around the edges of the five-reel video pokie screen
A straightforward game
Jester appeals to both new and experienced players with its perfect combination of simple set-up instructions and plenty of onscreen action. Kicking off with a $1,000 credit in the free game, there is plenty of scope to customise the settings to suit your own taste and preferences. The control panel sits across the bottom of the screen, with each button clearly labelled to make changing things really easy.
Take a few moments to try out different numbers of paylines and stakes and to experiment with the max bet and autoplay options.
The symbols in play
Shiny, vividly-coloured mirrored jewels are carved into the number cards 9 and 10, while the suits are represented by a gorgeous heart, diamond, spade and club. Other images include a mandolin guitar; the essential juggling props of maracas and clubs; gold trinkets; a gorgeous princess, who also acts as the bonus card; and the joker himself, who doubles as the wild card.
Payouts, bonuses and extras
This is not a really high paying game; however, there are plenty of chances to win, which makes it more exciting to play than pokies that pay out more evenly. The numbers and card suits are the meanest, with five icons paying out between 100 and 125 credits and matching four returning just 20 in some cases. Middle-of-the-road symbols, such as the guitar and juggling equipment, struggle to get to 200 credits for five matches.
More lucrative wagers are won when the golden trinkets, pointy shoes or the golden-haired princess show up across the reels, with the jester leading the paytable with rewards of up to 4,000 credits. The jester also helps players out in his role as the wild card, which means he can be used to replace any of the other symbols on a reel.
This makes it easy to rack up some fabulously high winnings, as the range of combinations is vastly increased. Everybody loves freebies and the princess symbol, which is also the bonus/scatter, loves to award these in the form of free spins. The princess icon only appears on reels two to four of the pokie screen, so be sure to check for them each spin.
Only three matches are needed to trigger the bonus feature of seven free spins. Jesters offers gentle entertainment for players of all ages, so why not step back in time and party like the locals?