The most popular game on any casino floor, Fruit Machines have been enticing players since they were invented. From humble mechanical beginnings to the latest in multi line video fruit machines we here we provide an overview of the current market for the online slot machine player.

Fruit Machines
Arctic Treasure Sparta Spin 2 Million $
As the name suggests Arctic Treasure is a popular theme running throughout this Fruit Machine from the famous Playtech stable. Symbols covered in ice and an Ice Queen Arctic Princess wild symbol. Themed after the historic Spatans, the Sparta fruit machine is a 5 reel slot with an expanding wild symbol. Apart from the usual deck of cards other symbols are the warship, catapult, Greek Urn, Sword and Shield. Last updated in June 2009 the Playtech Fruit Machine Spin 2 Million $ is a multiple line multiple bet slot machine with multiple paylines and features based on the very popular cops and robbers theme.

Iron Man Incredible Hulk
Based on the famous 1960s comic superhero, Iron Man Fruit Machine is the slot machine version of the popular sci-fi film. As expected from a Fruit Machine based on a Marvel comic the game is a visual masterpiece. The Incredible Hulk Fruit Machine is as the name suggests based on the popular TV series. It is action packed and comes with a range of features and bonuses including a Hulk Smash Bonus and Expanding Hulk feature.

Originally dating back to its invention at the end of the last century the term Fruit Machine is the English term meaning Gambling machine or more commonly Slot Machine. The first Fruit Machine was the Liberty Bell which can still be seen today in a Nevada Restaurant carrying its name http://www.libertybellereno.com/historypages/grandpa1.html.

Early Fruit Machines were mechanical devices with 5 or more symbols. Players put a nickel or penny in the coin slot and pulled the arm of the machine causing the reels to spin to the next combination of fruits. The older devices were not random but had a fixed pattern of reels ensuring that the machine paid out around 70% of what it took in. For this reason players typically finding that they lost money coined the phrase "bandits".

Fruit Machines evolved and became ever more sophisticated, though largely still mechanically based, right through to the digital age. The lever that started the reel spinning process known as an Arm led to this equipment being termed "one arm bandits".

The invention of microchips and complex electronics from the 1980's onwards ushered in a new era for gamers and led to the next generation of one armed bandit Slot Machines. The complexity of the modern day Fruit Machine has to be seen to be believed. Progressing from coin operation (though usually still accepting coins) the typical machine accepts banknotes and latterly issues and accepts bar coded tickets which can be exchanged for cash. Mechanical levers have given way to buttons, and indeed the latest machines operate touch screen technology.

The object of the Fruit Machine game remains as it was in the early days – the lure of winning money, although it can be said that modern machines also provide an element of entertainment value. The lure of money, with progressive jackpot prizes sometimes offered as high as several million dollars is attractive though incredibly unlikely to be achieved. The odds of winning such a jackpot are very low indeed and the likely outcome of the game will be in the game operators favour. Nonetheless, Fruit Machines remain the most popular game on any casino floor.

Themed and multi lined Fruit Machines have become common place. The once simple 3 reel slot with 5 or more fruits and symbols has been replaced with 5 line electronic screens and entertaining bonus features. These are often based on popular board games such as "Monopoly" or television shows like the Simpsons. Players are able to choose both the number of lines they wish to stake and also the coin value per line. Modern machines usually offer up to 20 paylines but may have as many as one hundred.

The latest evolutions in Fruit Machine technology have been the switch to multi-denomination equipment and the internet revolutionising territory formerly the domain of land based casinos. Multi denomination developments and based on credits where the player exchanges cash, coins or tickets for credit and then choose the number of credits and lines to play. This eliminated the requirement to put specific sizes of coins into the equipment and offers a good solution to the previous practice of carrying metal tokens or specific denomination coins.

The evolution of the internet, in tandem with video technology is such that prizes have been able to increase – there are both mathematical and physical reasons for this. Older reel based mechanical technology offered a restricted number of theoretical wins – say 5 fruits and 3 reels gave a number of possible win combinations at around 1000. This limited the scope for large jackpots associated with online Fruit Machines and their land based counterparts. Video slots enable a possible 256 combinations per reel usually over 5 reels and 20 win lines. This increases the number of possible lines exponentially leading to a chance of 1 in over 15 million of hitting the jackpot on any particular spin. Increased numbers of players online, all sharing the same progressive jackpot has led to some spectacular prizes and prize payouts.

Overall the Fruit Machine has come a long way since car mechanic Charles Fey of California created the first such machine last century. The basic premise remains the same – the possibility of a large (if unlikely win) for a small stake.