Meet the Mascots Behind the Reels
The Big Bass Fisherman – Reel Kingdom/Pragmatic Play
If you’ve visited an online casino or seen a gambling ad in the past year or so, there’s one face you might immediately recognise (perhaps more so than your reflection) and that’s the bearded bandit from Pragmatic Play and partner studio Reel Kingdom.
While he’s nameless by nature, that doesn’t make him any less iconic as he’s the star of the Big Bass Bonanza series. Over the years, he’s been decked out in Halloween ‘fits and Santa costumes, playing the role well, no matter what watering hole he washes up in.
More than just a pretty face, the fisherman also plays an important role in the gameplay itself, serving as a wild that reels in fish values during in the free spins when they both appear together.
Smokey the Raccoon – Hacksaw Gaming
Smokey the Raccoon is the furry fiend that’s pinned as the face of Hacksaw Gaming‘s long-running ‘Le’ series, with a serious case of sticky fingers.
He made his debut in Le Bandit as a crowbar-toting criminal mastermind before reinventing himself as a pharaoh, fisherman, cowboy, Santa, and even Elvis as he tries to pull a fast one across time and space.
All of his games have a very recognisable vintage rubber-hose artsyle and engaging gameplay, often paired with cascading wins, Golden Squares, and a host of creative bonus features named after the theme, such as Luck of the Bandit, All That Glitters Is Gold, and Treasure at the End of the Rainbow in the original game.
Whatever disguise he dons, Smokey is up to his usual tricks, leaving a trail of stolen goods and chaos in his wake, with players eager to see what (mis)adventures he gets up to next.
Rich Wilde – Play n’ GO
You know what every slot player craves? Adventure. But rather than going out and touching grass or plundering pyramids themselves, they’d rather turn to their own Indiana Jones-coded explorer.
For most slots players, that comes in the form of the one and only Rich Wilde, Play’n GO’s handsome and intrepid adventurer with several notches in his bed post. And by that, we mean he has several games under his belt, including:
- Rich Wilde and the Pearls of Vishnu
- Rich Wilde and the Tome of Insanity
- Rich Wild and the Shield of Athena
- Rich Wilde and the Tome of Madness
- Rich Wilde and the Pearls of India
- Rich Wilde and the Aztec Wilde
But Book of Dead is the slot that propelled Rich Wilde into the spotlight set against an ancient Egyptian backdrop and plastered front and centre of many ‘a casino bonus, thanks to its lucrative expanding symbol mechanics, and inspired a whole library of Book slots to follow.
Rich Wilde isn’t the only Wilde with main character energy, as he passed the metaphorical torch on to his daughter, Cat Wilde.
John Hunter – Pragmatic Play
After the adventures of Rich Wilde, it seems only fitting to talk about a similarly rugged chap… And that’s one John Hunter.
He’s essentially Pragmatic Play’s answer to Indiana Jones, as this intrepid explorer has spent his best years globetropping in search of lost treasures and ancient artifacts, starring in everything from John Hunter and the Aztec Treaure to John Hunter and the Quest for Bermuda Riches.
Naturally, the gameplay changes depending on where his latest expedition takes him. Some adventures feature expanding symbols and Free Spins, while others involve collect features, cascades, and multipliers, but whenever Mr. Hunter ends up, there’s usually a treasure trove of features to be discovered.
Nellie the Pink Elephant – Eyecon
There’s no chance of forgetting Nellie the Pink Elephant, the cuddly mascot at the centre of Eyecon’s Fluffy Favourites franchise.
First introduced alongside a toybox of other stuffed animals, she’s now become the face of one of the most popular slot series in the UK, appearing in recent spin-ffs such as Fluffy Too, Fluffy Favourites Fairground, and, more recently, Fluffy Fishin’, as a unique take on the fishing theme.
Outside of being positively squishable, Nellie also plays an important role on the reels, usually acting as the Wild to substitute for other symbols and boost winning combinations. In Fluffy Fishin’, she even helps collect cash prizes with the Net Feature.
The Rainbow Riches Leprechaun – Barcrest
You can’t talk about iconic slot characters without tipping your (green) cap to the little fella from Rainbow Riches, aka Lucky O’Leary the Leprechaun (try saying that five-times fast).
He debuted in the original Rainbow Riches from Barcrest that’s a familiar sight in pubs and online casinos while playing fully into Irish stereotypes, being Guinness pint-sized with the ginger beard and green shamrocks to boot.
He’s more than just a lucky charm, though, with the original Rainbow Riches built around bonus features that place his treasure-hunting antics centre stage, as landing three of more Leprechaun symbols would trigger the Road to Riches feature where a spinning wheel determines how long you travel up the yellow brick road to fortune.
Lucky might be an oldie but goldie, but he’s still worth mentioning as a classic character who has cemented his place in the slots Hall of Fame.
Main Character Energy
There’s a reason slot studios keep bringing back the same familiar faces, to milk a cash-cow, as it were. And there’s nothing wrong with that. After all, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
These recurring characters give players a sense of familiarity and staying power, and also someone to root for (and occasionally blame where there’s a few dead spins). It also opens the door to sequels, spin-offs, and new adventures, which means there’s always another opp to catch up with your favourite characters.
But who gets your vote for the most iconic slot character? Is it someone we’ve listed here, or is there a famous face that’s missed our list? Let us know in the comments down below!
If you’d like to see some of these characters in action, you can explore our full slot reviews to find out more about their games, features, and payouts, or head over to our free slot demos hub to give thousands of titles a spin without spending a penny.
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