If you've played a fruit machine in a British amusement arcade or cafe in the past 25 years, chances are it was developed by Barcrest.
The Manchester-born machine manufacturer has been providing games for decades, and even thought the firm has changed hands once or twice during its lifetime, it still churns out some excellent online slots for the masses.
Jewel in the Crown, first released in 2016, is an upbeat slot game themed around the crown jewels. Players spin reels filled with bright sparkling gems and bejewelled letter symbols, all set against a royal purple backdrop. The game's soundtrack is perky, bringing to mind scenes of butlers pacing around the halls of a bright and happy royal palace. Jewel in the Crown is a far more extensive video slot than it first appears to be. Players can expect to be able to play a proper kingly themed slot and enjoy a good selection of special features. Those features naturally get better if you favour wagering more than $2.00 per spin, so we would advise that you do that.
About Barcrest
Jewel In The Crown Korean Drama
Established in Manchester, England, in 1968, Barcrest started out producing machines for bingo clubs, arcades and pubs, and quickly became the UK's biggest fruit machine manufacturer.
Innovation followed through the 1980s as the developer's fruities were distributed across Europe and new 'MPU' machines appeared. These motherboard cards allowed for more innovative 'skill-based' features on fruit machines in cafes and arcades (think Trail Bonuses and 'board games'-style rounds).
Like a much-loved toy being passed down to new children, Barcrest has experienced various takeovers in recent years.
It was a market leader in offline machines even in the late 1990s - manufacturing and selling over 35,000 in 1997 alone - but attracted the gaze of a much bigger fish.
Jewel in the Crown. Fortune Favours. This is a high volatility slot with five fixed. Monopoly slots free coins 2020.
International Game Technology (IGT) UK bought out the firm in 1998 in a deal worth £42 million as IGT aimed to gain a foothold in the European market. However, Barcrest still continued to develop the games under their own name.
Then, in 2011, IGT sold off Barcrest to Scientific Games in a deal worth £35 million. Scientific bought out another slots giant, Bally, in 2014, for $5.1 billion, which brings Barcrest and Bally under the same roof for the first time.
Free to Play Barcrest Slot Machine Games
Barcrest Slot Machine Reviews (No Free Games)
Popular Slots
Although in terms of land-based slot machines Barcrest are all about the classic three-reelers, they've still managed to launch some pretty impressive online video slots.
Starting off as a popular land-based title, Monty's Millions made a seamless transition over to online casinos. While rather innovative at the time, with its Scatters and Wilds and free spins, Monty's Millions has started to look rather dated but still maintains a good fanbase. Similarly, Ca$hino is a simple 5-reel slot with free spins and a 'roulette wheel' bonus feature.
More recently, the darling of the casino free spins bonus - Rainbow Riches - is one of the best Irish-themed slots on the market, while a range of Monopoly-themed slots have proved popular.
International Game Technology (IGT) UK bought out the firm in 1998 in a deal worth £42 million as IGT aimed to gain a foothold in the European market. However, Barcrest still continued to develop the games under their own name.
Then, in 2011, IGT sold off Barcrest to Scientific Games in a deal worth £35 million. Scientific bought out another slots giant, Bally, in 2014, for $5.1 billion, which brings Barcrest and Bally under the same roof for the first time.
Free to Play Barcrest Slot Machine Games
Barcrest Slot Machine Reviews (No Free Games)
Popular Slots
Although in terms of land-based slot machines Barcrest are all about the classic three-reelers, they've still managed to launch some pretty impressive online video slots.
Starting off as a popular land-based title, Monty's Millions made a seamless transition over to online casinos. While rather innovative at the time, with its Scatters and Wilds and free spins, Monty's Millions has started to look rather dated but still maintains a good fanbase. Similarly, Ca$hino is a simple 5-reel slot with free spins and a 'roulette wheel' bonus feature.
More recently, the darling of the casino free spins bonus - Rainbow Riches - is one of the best Irish-themed slots on the market, while a range of Monopoly-themed slots have proved popular.
Super Monopoly is a great game based on the classic board game and really taps in to the famous Barcrest trail bonus round.
In 2016, trade shows were buzzing over new slots titles like Ooh Aah Dracula, designed with the mobile market in mind.
Featuring some impressive graphics (though still nothing on the scale of a BetSoft or Sheriff Gaming) and a free spins feature that lets you cash in your wins from the first round of spins or take a punt on what you can earn in the next round of spins. There's even a 'Best Strategy Indicator' which gives you hints on what statistically is the best decision to make after a bet.
Enjoy Top Barcrest Games For Free
If you're interested in trying out some cracking Barcrest slots for free, you can test an excellent selection here at VegasSlots.co.uk.
Click on the links above and you can try out Rainbow Riches, Monty's Millions or Cashino without risking a penny. We also have some top UK casino reviews if you want to put your bankroll where your mouth is and go for the big jackpots.
Jewel in the Crown is a 5 reel, 10 +3 payline slot powered by Barcrest. Available to play on desktop, mobile and tablet devices from 10p to £500 per spin, this jewel themed offering has plenty offer where you hope to bring home the Crown Jewels. In terms of bonus features, there's plenty to get your hands on.
Jewel In The Crown Setting
Visually, it's a sparkly affair – set against a rich velvet drape backdrop, symbols on the reels include and a selection of jewels including playing cards A, K, Q, J and 10. Graphically, it's not as high definition as other slots you'll see around as it's quite typical of what you will find for a Barcrest-powered game. Jazzy spins.
There is also a Crown symbol which is the scatter – 3 of these on reels 2, 3 and 4 (the 3 middle ones) will trigger the Free Spins feature and with it, 10 free spins. As a result, the symbol in the blue Crown becomes wild. The symbol in the red Crown then becomes Mega Stacked!
If the symbols in both the red and blue Crowns are the same, they will become Mega Stacked Wilds for the duration of the feature. The good news is that you can win more free spins during the feature – 1 Crown landing on reels 2, 3 or 4 will give you 1 extra free spin whilst 2 Crowns gives you 3 extra free spins. If you manage to get 3 Crowns on the middle 3 reels, you will get an additional 8 free spins. Pragmatic slots free games.
As for the wild symbol, it substitutes for all symbols except the Crown and is only active during the feature. Now, it playing at £2 per spin or more, all wins pay adjacent becomes active - all awards (except the scatter) pay for and adjacent winning combinations.
As with other Barcrest slots, there's a Big Bet feature – a Big Bet game consists of 5 linked spins at a higher stake. At £20, you get 5 linked spins with the Crowning Glory Trail feature activated – each Crown is added to the Crowning Glory Trail except when free spins are activated.
If you reach position 4 on the trail at the end of the £20 or £30 Big Bet game, you will get 1 free spin with trail held. The £30 Big Bet game also benefits from stacked jewels. If you reach position 6 on the trail at the end of the £20 or £50 Big Bet game, you will get 8 free spins – which resets the trail.
There is also the £50 Big Bet game where the Super Crowning Glory Trail feature is triggered – Crowns (without triggering the free spins) adds the crown to the trail. You will also get stacked jewels here. If you reach position 5 on the trail, you will get 8 free spins - if you reach position 6, you will get 16 free spins.
Finally, the return to player % (RTP) increases the higher your stake – the RTP for the Big Bet feature is 98% whilst it's 94% for under £2 per spin. If over £2 a spin, it's at 96%. Jewel in the Crown may sound complicated but it's pretty straightforward once you get going – it's a medium variance game with a max win of 500 times your stake. In all fairness, it's a decent game but there are better Barcrest games out there, like Rainbow Riches Reels of Gold which has been given the WMS/Colossal Reels treatment.
