Thunderstruck Slot
Thunderstruck is one of the gambling realm's classic online slots. Released as long ago as 2004 (or 2003, or 2005, according to some sources), this was a slot that really got the ball rolling – or the reels rotating – for those gods of casino software, Microgaming. The game is based on Norse mythology, and has five reels and a maximum of nine pay lines. True, this game might now look a little too simplistic in this modern, '3D slots' day and age, but you should always remain respectful to a classic, and Thunderstruck is certainly that. It's also one of the few online slots games to spawn a sequel – Thunderstruck II.
Most of the symbols used in this game – aside from playing card values nine to ace – are associated with the noble Norse gods who used to inhabit the great hall of Valhalla. Thor is 'top god' in the Thuderstruck slot, and he is joined on the reels by his mighty hammer, his horn, a sky-shattering bolt of lightning, and the entrance to Asgard.
You can choose your own coin size from 0.01 to 1.00, and the number of coins you want in play from one to five. There are only nine lines, but you can select as many as you want in play. Your total wager is your coin size multiplied by the number of coins you want in play by the number of lines you've activated.
Once you've set things as to your liking, hit the spin button to see if the (Norse) gods will smile kindly on you!
Payout & bonus rounds
The payouts in Thunderstruck start at double-your-stake for two nines, and rise all the way up to a cloud-splitting 10,000x for five of the king of the demi-gods himself, Thor. Jackpots are won by landing identical symbols in sequence on an active pay line from the left hand reel.
Thor is your true hero in this online slots game as he acts as the wild symbol. He substitutes for all other symbols and any win containing a Thor symbol doubles the amount of cash won.
A pair of rams acts as the scatter symbol in Thunderstruck. If you land at least three scatters following a spin you win fifteen free spins, and all wins during your freebies are tripled. Free spins can be re-triggered during your freebie bonuses.
All the wins you gather while playing Thunderstruck can be gambled. You get to choose what you think the colour of a secret playing card will be to double your win, or the suit to quadruple it. Guess right and you can gamble again, but guess wrong and you lose everything. You can chicken out at any stage by hitting the 'collect' button.
Thunderstruck may now be starting to look a little dated, but despite being at least a decade old, this game still serves as a brilliant way for newbs to get their heads around the concept of online slots, and aspects such as wilds and scatters. Such newbies can then move on to deeper and more feature-rich slots – like Thunderstruck II!