Rival Gaming, one of the industry’s leading online slots developers and the creative force behind iSlots, has announced that it is mostly leaving the US online casino market. What they are saying is that they will be shutting their virtual doors to new online slots players from the US. That is the bad news. The good news is that if you are a US online slots player at a Rival Gaming online casino, you can still play. They are only ceasing to accept new US players; existing US players are still free to play.

The reason is likely to pertain to the current indictments and investigations by the US’s Department of Justice and US Attorney Generals’ offices. It may be a case of Rival wanting to watch themselves and scale back their reach in the US market. No one could blame them for not wanting to go through what PokerStars and Full Tilt are going through. There is also the possibility of scaling back in anticipation of the federal government regulating online casinos. We just have to wait and see if that is the direction the US federal government will take.

For the time being current US players are still able to play at Rival Gaming powered online casinos. This means that they will be able to enjoy their lineup of iSlots and 3D online slots games. Hopefully current US online slots players will not have to deal with the loss of their favorite online casinos and hopefully Rival Gaming will at least leave the door open for current players.

The new Rival Gaming online slots game is a five reel, twenty payline game by the name of Summer Ease. This is not an iSlots though. The theme is meant to highlight the fun and relaxing aspects of summer: grilling, picnics, beach going, boats and convertibles. But this online slots game offers players an $8,888 coin jackpot for landing five wilds; a scatter payout; a free spins feature and a bonus game.

The Convertible is the wild symbol and it only appears on reels 1, 3 and 5. But when players land it, it will expand to cover the entire reel which then increases the chances of more payouts.

Landing three or more Bicycles will trigger the free spins feature. Three Bicycles will award 10 free spins; four will award 20; five Bicycles will award 75 free spins. All free spins have a multiplier of 75 xs.

Landing three or more of the other scatter, the Speed Boat, will trigger the bonus game. Naturally the bonus game is a boat race which has players racing through buoys to reach the finish line and their bonus prize on a second screen.

This is not a ‘sit back and watch’ kind of bonus game. Online slots players must use their mouse to guide the boat through the buoys, of which there are six. Hitting buoys will reduce the amount of the bonus game of course. Also the more scatters that trigger the bonus game impact the bonus prize; more scatters in the trigger mean larger bonus prizes.

This is a fun and light theme with a solid bonus game and free spins feature. This new online slots game from Rival Gaming is bound to become a favorite with players at Rival powered online casinos.

Often times online bingo is compare to online slots in so much as both are games of chance when put into an online format. Well, Rival Gaming has taken the two games and merged them.

This week sees Rival launching Five Reel Bingo, a five reel online slots game that is themed with Bingo. But it is an online slots game! Players wager on paylines, click Spin, watch the reels spin and receive payouts based on winning combinations on paylines. It is with a Bingo theme is all.

Symbols include an announcer, ball dispensers, bingo markers and bingo cards. The idea is to bring to mind a Bingo hall.

The jackpot symbol is the little old lady who won at Bingo. When five of her are landed on the reels she will payout 2,500 coins.

The other symbol of note is the old man who missed out winning Bingo because of the old lady winning. So the runner up gets to be the scatter symbol. Landing three, four or five of him will trigger five, ten or twenty free spins, respectively. All free spins have a 3 xs multiplier on them.

But the fun is the bonus game.

Each reel has a letter that spells Bingo. Players must land all five letters anywhere on each reel to trigger the bonus game. And the bonus game is a second screen Bingo game. There are different winning layouts on the player’s Bingo card. Whichever layout the player completes first will determine the bonus amount given.

Just to keep it straight this is an online slots game with a Bingo theme.

So on to some real slots news. Let’s take a look at the latest offering from Rival Gaming.

Rival is a software provider known for their smooth graphics and fun animations. With their latest online slots game, which is surprisingly not a 3D slots game, Rival has put their graphic skills into showcasing the grand life of the Texas Oil Tycoon.

BP should think about hiring them.

Gushers Gold is another five reel online slots game which is all tricked out in the trappings Rival is known for.

The Oil Barrel is the expanding wild, helping players to maximize winning combinations in a turn. But oil does not flow everywhere and like so neither does the Oil Barrel appear everywhere. The Oil Barrel only appears on reels one, three and five.

The Tycoon’s Girl is the free spins symbol. Landing three of her—mind out of the gutter, people—on the reels will award five, ten or fifteen free spins depending on whether three, four or five symbols, respectively, were landed.

Then there is the oil drilling bonus game. Landing three Oil Rigs will set off the bonus game, whisking players off to a second screen with three oil rigs on it. Players then choose which rig they want to drill with and which depth they want to drill to. Once chosen player then click the reveal button and are shown their bonus prize.

Rival has set the jackpot for Gold Gushers at 1,000 coins for landing five of the Oil Tycoon himself.

Rival is first out of the gate for April, we wish them well; and bring on more new online slots.

Rival Gaming has done just that, they have combined horse racing and slots into a five reel online slots game they are calling A Day at the Derby. The reels are filled with horses and jockeys as well as horse and track sounds for those of you who play with the sound on.

The wild works a bit differently in this online slots game. The Brown Horse, which is the wild, only appears on reels one, two and three. There is a multiplier on the wild, but it is passed on the number of wilds that make up the winning combination. If there are two wilds in a winning combination, then the multiplier on that combination is 2 xs.

Slots players can win up to twenty free spins in a Day at the Derby. Five of the Blue Jokey scatter will award the twenty free spins while four Blue Jockeys give ten free spins, and finally three will set off five free spins. Regardless of the number of free spins, all have a 3x multiplier applied to them.

And what would a horse race online slots game be without a race? It simply would not be one. That being said, three of more Gray Horses will trigger the horse race. Players have to choose one of the three horses on the second screen, and then get to cheer on their chosen horse. A photo finish reveals the positions of the three horses. Depending on where the player’s horse finishes will determine the size of the bonus prize.

While there have been other horse race online slots games in the past, none have had the graphic panache that Rival Gaming has given a Day at the Derby. If you cannot make it to the local racino, this online slots game might make for a nice substitution.

This five reel, twenty payline online slots game follows the dream of the McMurphy family—who are all represented on the reels by name. The graphics are bright, which is to be expected when you have a whole extended family excited about a trip together. There’s the mom and dad, brother and sister, the grandfather and uncle, and of course the family dog. There is going to be color!

Unlike most Rival online slots games, this one does not feature a bonus game. However, there are free spins to win.

The free spins are triggered when three of more of the Bonus symbols are landed on the reels. A random number of free spins ranging from three to nine will be triggered.

There is not a multiplier on the free spins. However when a winning combination happens on a free spins the winning symbols drop off the reels and the symbols above them cascade down, potentially creating more combinations.

Now, while this is an entertaining online slots game, I have to admit that I am a bit disappointed not to see a bonus game. Typically Rival will load their online slots games up with a bonus game and free spins, not one of the other.

Other than the lack of a bonus game, The McMurphy’s does carry the standard Rival is known for: bright, well-executed graphics and smooth game play. Not to mention an entertaining theme. The McMurphy’s is a fun take on the concept of a big family vacation.

This 3D slots treasure is a testimony to the excitement that can result from a well designed online slots game. Granted this five reel, twenty payline slots game does not offer a bonus game like the other 3D online slots game released this month does. But Dr. Magoo comes with a free spins feature that presents players with essentially a different slots game.

In order to trigger the free spins feature players must discover three Cave Entrances on the reels. Only then will the secret free spins feature of Dr. Magoo be revealed.

The number of free spins awarded depends on how many Cave Entrances you land…or discover…it all depends on how you look at it. Three Cave Entrances will award you with ten free spins; four will set you with fifteen; and five Cave Entrances will give you twenty five free spins.

Once the free spins begin players are transported from the green reels of the jungle to the earthy colored reels of the jungle caves in which you hope to find your fortune and glory.

Once in the free spin caves you will find that you have three more Scatters to help you on your way to fortune and glory, each one with a different payout multiplier:

Entrance Tunnel: 25 xs to 500 xs Scatter payout on your activating wager
Statue: 10 xs to 200 xs Scatter payout on your activating wager
Dark Cave: 5 xs to 100 xs Scatter payout on your activating wager

So the Scatters found in the free spins feature payout just like a normal Scatter, but can only be found during a free spin. But you can also increase your free spins. If you stumble across Dr. Magoo on the free spin cave reels he will award you more free spins to keep looking for his—I mean, your fortune and glory. You can actually win up twenty five more free spins.

You will also find an Expanding Wild: Two Birds on a Branch. They only appear on reel three but will expand to fill the entire reel, creating more winning combinations.

Right now Dr. Magoo’s Adventure 3D online slots can only be played in the flash versions of the Rival Gaming software. But some treasure hunting is better than none.

This five reel, twenty payline iSlot features a lot of the stereotypes that come out of and are associated with Japan. Things such as sumo wrestlers, Godzilla, sushi, Ninjas, cell phones, robots, girls with pigtails and video games.

While, yes, it is true that such things did originate in Japan, I feel that the stereotype is a bit heavy handed in this presentation. But the real issue with this iSlot makes the theme look like nothing.

What is it that iSlots are known for? Their interactiveness, that is what separates iSlots from ordinary online slots games. This type of online slots game is known for allowing the player to have more of an influence in the game—most specifically in the bonus game.

But I have to say that the bonus game choice for Japan-O-Rama to be rather ironic.

After landing three of the Sumo Wrestlers anywhere on the reels, players are transported to, this is funny, a casino floor where they come face to face with a game of Pachinko.

Pachinko is a Japanese game of chance. It is like a cross between a slot machine and pinball. Players face a vertical disc with a bunch of metal sticks sticking out of it, similar to the little pins in pinball that the ball bounces off of. Players place their wagers, press start, and watch the ball fall and bounce off of the metal sticks. The sticks the ball hits on its way to the bottom determine if and how much the player wins.

And that is all.

The bonus game in this in Japan-O-Rama has players playing a couple rounds of Pachinko that go so fast you are not entirely sure what happened the first time you trigger the bonus round because before you know it you are through the bonus game and back on the reels.

Yes, that is the bonus game for this iSlot. An iSlot. While the graphics on this one are well-done just like all other Rival iSlots, the design and concept behind this one’s bonus game just do not pass muster on what makes an iSlot an iSlot.

Check back this afternoon for more on iSlots.

Rival Gaming has remade an oldie but a goodie from their online slots game arsenal: Reel Party.

The new, updated version is called Reel Party Platinum.

The new and improved Real Party Platinum online slots game features five reels with fifteen paylines for players to play on. Wagers are as low as $0.01 per payline up to $1 per payline; this makes the smallest total wager $0.15 and the largest $15, making this a versatile online slots game, meeting the playing needs of low rollers and high rollers alike.

In other words, every online slots player can spin in the New Year with Reel Party Platinum.

Baby New Year is the Wild symbol, and this little guy will take the place of any symbol on the reels to help complete winning combinations—except for the Scatter and Bonus symbols that is.

And speaking of that Scatter, the free spins are triggered by the free spins symbol. Landing three will give ten free spins, with the maximum amount of free spins to be won being one hundred.

But it is the bonus game that makes Reel Party Platinum the fun that it is—other than winning of course.

The Champagne Bottle is the Bonus symbol. Landing three or more will send players to the liquor store on a champagne run; after all you cannot have a New Year’s party without champagne. Online slots players will get to choose three bottles of champagne from the liquor store. Each bottle will reveal a bonus amount that the player gets to keep. Consider it your fee for going and getting the bubbly.

Reel Party Platinum brings the fun and excitement of New Year’s Eve party to players in the form of an online slots game. Rival Gaming has done an excellent job in their remake of the original.

In fact, it is the opposite of winter.

The latest five reel from Rival Gaming is an online slots game called Cream of the Crop. And rather than things in the earth dying off for winter, foods—and Weeds—are springing forth from the ground.

With twenty paylines, players watch fifteen seeds fall into the ground in five rows vertical rows. The placement of each seed matches the placement of a symbol in a normal slots games.

The only difference in Cream of the Crop are the seeds falling into the soil are the same as spinning reels, except the ordinary looking of spinning reels is not present. This presents a refreshing overall look to this online slots game.

That being said, once the seeds land, symbols grow from the soil, symbols such as Onions, Turnips, Corn and other vegetables grown in gardens.

Players can look forward to an Extended Wild: a Rabbit hops out of the ground, hops over the other symbols in that row—or reel—to make them Wilds, which then increases the players chances of winning combinations.

This is no ordinary slots garden either—Buried Treasure can be found here. Players will find Buried Treasure Chests on the reels, and landing three of them will trigger a bonus game to further increase what you reap in this online slots game.

I have to applaud RivalGaming’s latest online slots game for the unique seeds replacing the reels, further driving home the garden idea in Cream of the Crop. They have taken the concept of this slots game and made it a winner.