Barb’s Best Bets: Got World Cup Fever? Then Play Top Strike Championship
As the competition for the 2018 FIFA World Cup comes down to its final matchup Sunday, July 15, all eyes will be on the two remaining contenders, France and Croatia, to see which country prevails.
But first England and Belgium will square off on Saturday, July 14 to see which team finishes third and which has to settle for fourth.
If you would like to bet on any of these outcomes, there are two places in Atlantic City where you can: the Borgata Race & Sports Book and the William Hill Sportsbook at Ocean Resort Casino.
But the fun and excitement don’t have to start and stop there. Either as a perfectly timed warm-up to this weekend’s big games or anytime thereafter — because you love the action and excitement of competitive soccer so much you can’t get enough of it — why not play a soccer-themed online slot?
The one I found and am telling you about here is Top Strike Championship, and it’s this week’s Barb’s Best Bet.
Where can you play Top Strike Championship
No need to travel to Atlantic City to play Trop Strike Championship. In fact, you won’t find this new slot from NetEnt in any Atlantic City casino. But you will find it on these NJ Gambling Websites:
- Golden Nugget online casino
- ResortsCasino.com
- MoheganSunCasino.com
Why play Top Strike Championship
NJ online slot players can take their pick from hundreds of games, and obviously, depending on what type of game you are looking for, how much you want to bet, and other personal preferences, some games will be a better fit than others. However, given the feverish level of excitement generated by the World Cup competition, I set out on a mission of my own.
My goal was to try to find an online slot game that would appeal to the millions of soccer fans who also love playing slots. But, in order to be considered for this column, simply being soccer-related wouldn’t do. The game also had to meet the super high standards I set for Best Bet status. Mission accomplished. I discovered Top Strike Championship!
Although the Return to Player (RTP) of 95.6 percent is a little shy of the 96 percent return I prefer, I was sufficiently impressed by the game’s other great features to make an exception. I think you will be very pleased, too.
Simplicity
In this age where everything is super high-tech, including many slot games, it’s refreshing to see games like this that are not overly complicated. Top Strike Championship has 5 reels, 3 rows, and 20 fixed paylines.
With both a wild symbol and scatter symbol, three bonus features, and the possibility (though remote) you could win up to $210,000, the game is far from boring. But at the same time, it’s a game any player can get into right away. At no point will you be scratching your head wondering what the heck is happening.
Furthermore, if your knowledge of the game of soccer is limited or nonexistent, no problem. All you have to do is select your bet size, spin the reels, and hopefully watch the win meter take a steady upward climb. In the bonus rounds, you have to try to pick the winning players, but again, no skill is required.
If you’re lucky, you will pick right and keep winning. If not, maybe next time your luck will be better. It’s as simple as that!
Versatility and Affordability
The minimum bet per spin is only 20 cents and the maximum bet is $100. That makes Top Strike Championship a suitable game for virtually anyone from penny players to high rollers. Prior to starting the game, you can choose your bet size from any of the following amounts: 20 cents, 40 cents, 60 cents, 80 cents, $1, $2, $4, $5, $10, $20, $40, $50, or $100.
If you’re a small player, I suggest sticking to a bet size of $1 or less. Although you do not have the option to have less than all 20 lines in play, by keeping your individual wagers at the recommended level, there’s little chance of breaking the bank.
Top Strike Championship has medium volatility, meaning that some up and down movement of your playing bankroll is to be expected, but not enough to be a major concern if you play sensibly, even if funds are limited.
Visually exciting layout
In order for a slot game to do more than arouse your curiosity sufficiently on first glance to make you want to play, and keep your eyes glued to the screen for spin after spin, a visually exciting layout is a must. Top Strike Championship delivers by having all the action take place at a soccer stadium.
Among the various symbols on the reels are precisely the ones you would expect for this slot game: colorfully dressed cartoon-like players, a soccer ball, and the World Cup itself. Brightly colored lights, referees’ whistles, and the roar of the crowd enhance the feeling that you really are one of the spectators at an actual soccer stadium.
Convenience
On the other hand, even though you may feel you are attending an actual soccer game, you don’t have to travel anywhere to enjoy all the action in this slot. It can be played either on your computer or on most mobile devices, whichever is more convenient.
Opportunity for big wins
Lastly, the ultimate goal of any online slot player is to win big money, and while a big win or even any win is a big question mark in any slot game, in this game, your chances of winning are better than average.
While going after the gold, you will probably experience many rather small payouts. However, at any time, especially in the bonus games, a big payday could be only a spin away!
Top Strike Championship symbols
The Top Strike Championship slot game includes the following higher paying regular symbols:
- Two players wearing a red uniform
- Goalkeeper in a yellow uniform carrying a soccer ball
- Top Strike Championship logo
The additional lower paying symbols are the usual suspects—the playing cards 10 through Ace.
Wild and Scatter Symbols
Top Strike Championship also has a wild symbol and scatter symbol.
The wild symbol is a soccer ball with flags. This symbol, which can appear anywhere on the reels, helps to form additional winning combinations by substituting for all other symbols except the scatter symbol. The wild symbol is also the game’s highest paying symbol, paying 125x your bet for five of them across a payline.
In soccer, the crowning glory is, of course, the Gold Cup, so as only makes sense, in this game, the scatter symbol is the Gold Cup, too. Three or more of them anywhere on the reels will activate the Free Games Feature.
Top Strike Championship special features
If you’re looking for anything over the top like expanding wilds, destroyed symbols, and avalanches, Top Strike Championship could be somewhat of a letdown since it offers none of those. But don’t think for one minute that this highly entertaining game won’t still be exciting enough to satisfy the action lover in you, because it is. Here are the game’s special features.
Free Games feature
This feature is activated whenever three or more scatter symbols land anywhere on the reels. Depending on whether you get 3, 4, or 5 of them, you will receive 10,15, or 20 free spins, respectively.
Depending on how lucky you are, you could activate the Free Games feature early during the course of your play, or it could take a long time. Each time you see two Gold Cups appear on the reels, you will find yourself waiting with bated breath for at least one more while the music builds to a suspenseful roaring crescendo and the other reels keep on spinning for what seems like an eternity.
Usually, it’s all for naught and the spin comes up empty. But sooner or later the desired result occurs, and then you’re off to the races!
Unfortunately, the Free Spins feature cannot be retriggered. However, during the Free Spins, the low paying playing card symbols are replaced with goalie gloves, soccer cleats, and a referee’s whistle, all of which have higher payouts than the playing cards.
Treble Bonus Feature
Willy Wonka isn’t the only one offering Golden Tickets. So is the Top Strike Championship online slot game! But instead of being for kids only, these valuable Golden Tickets, which trigger the Treble Bonus Feature, are for adults only.
You can only win a Golden Ticket and activate the Treble Bonus Feature during the Free Spins, not during the base game. And even then, it will only happen if you’re especially lucky since the only place where a Golden Ticket can land is on reel 5.
If you get one, it will immediately activate the Treble Bonus Feature. During this feature, you’ll be presented with six teams and asked to pick the three you think will win. The number you pick correctly will determine the size of your prize.
Afterwards, unless all three of your picks are correct, you will be returned to the Free Spins. However, if all three of your picks win, this will trigger the Knockout Stage Bonus.
Unlike the Free Games Feature, the Treble Bonus Feature can be retriggered.
Knockout Stage Bonus Feature
During the Knockout Stage Bonus Feature, the object is to pick the winner in each of four rounds. Each time you win, you not only receive a cash prize, you move on to the next round. The further along you get in the Knockout Stage, the bigger your winnings. You could win up to 150x your bet!
Summary and congrats to Golden Nugget online casino
If you’re an NJ slot player who’s game for a new, exciting and potentially lucrative addition to your online slot repertoire, Top Strike Championship could provide the “Golden Ticket” you’re looking for.
And speaking of Golden, congratulations to Golden Nugget Online Casino not only for continuing to be the unchallenged NJ gambling website champion in total number of games, but also for offering over 500 games. In fact, this casino is now home to 557 games, including 500 slots.
But guess which slot was added last month as the casino’s 500th game? None other than Top Strike Championship!
Image credit: fifg / Shutterstock.com