1980s Fruit Machines

The origins of Fruit machines lay in American one-armed bandit games. So-called after original slot machines operated by one lever on the side of the machines. From the 1980s onwards Fruit Machine manufacturers took advantage of advances in electronics and computing. To make their fruit machines more sophisticated in terms of looks and features. A slot machine (American English), known variously as a fruit machine (British English), puggy (Scottish English), the slots (Canadian English and American English), poker machine/pokies (Australian English and New Zealand English), fruities (British English) or slots (American English), is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers. Slot machines are also known. A private collection of Fruit machines. These are mainly from the 80's and early 90's, however, there are one or two exceptions!

As a slight change of pace here on Yes No Casino we decided to jump in our trusty time machine and travel back to the 90’s and see if we could find our old faithful friends, our all time favourite UK pub fruit machines. And thanks to the wonders of the internet and good old Youtube, we did indeed manage to find a couple of videos of some all time great pub fruitys.

Of course, we won’t leave you without some recommendations about the best classic fruit machines you can play online, so check below.

Maygay The Great Escape Fruit Machine

Back in the day this was by far our favourite pub fruity. We remember sitting in the pub or the bookie with one eye on the flashing lights and waiting for enough money to be pumped into the fruit machine and then hoping the timing was right to try and empty it. Aah the memories, hoping that The Italian Job logo would turn red (meaning the top feature was a guaranteed jackpot) and hoping for 2 or 3 jackpots in close succession. Using the not so secret trick of the cancel button to slow down the random selector. Yes those were the good old days. Nostalgia may be taking us over but we do with that some of the online slot makers would occasionally take a look back at what made pub fruit machines so popular and try and replicate the classics to some extent.

The closest casino we have found whose pub slot machines remind us of those old classics are at Slots Magic and PlayOJO. Both of them offer a plethora of classic fruit machines by Bally, WMS, Aristocrat and other iconic land based slot providers. At the end of the page though we will be reviewing two online slot machines which aim to tap in on our pub fruity nostalgia (spoiler alert, one of the two really hits the mark).

But back to The Great Escape, here’s another video to refresh your memories:

Maygay The Italian Job Fruit Machine

Let us not of course forget the Great Escape clone featuring the same gameplay (and same cheats with the logo and cancel button). The Italian Job featured Michael Cane’s most famous of all phrases “Your only supposed to blow the bloody doors off”. Aah, classic! In the below video you will notice the logo flashing red signalling a guaranteed jackpot.
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Barcrest Andy Capp Fruit Machine

The number of old school fruit machines which have videos on Youtube is limited but here’s another of the old timers that is particularly memorable (though not one of our particular favourites – Monopoly Big Event is our top choice when it comes to Barcrest slots).

BFM (Bell Fruit Machine) Bullseye Fruit Machine

Here’s one that we don’t remember as such but it would have been unfair to have had this page and not include a BFM fruity. And the video does show the gameplay found in lots of classic BFM fruitys so here you go!

So that was our little walk down memory lane. We hope you enjoyed the trip and let’s hope the videos brought back more good memories than bad ones!

Please feel free to post your own all time favourites in the comments section, Youtube links are welcome!

Online Pub Slot Machines:

1 – Pub Fruity by Microgaming

Pub Fruity by Microgaming is an old 3 reel 1 line slot machine in the style of the old pub games. Alas it is no longer available at online casinos which is a shame as it did provide something reminiscent of the old pub fruit machines despite not being realy outstanding.

2 – Down the Pub by Playson

Down the Pub may initially seem like just another themed 5 reel video slot but there is much more to it. Within the modern day constraints it actually does a really good job of bringing the feel of a pub slot machine to the online casino world. Give it a demo yourself over at Codeta Casino.

Down the Pub main game

Time to enjoy some after-work with fish and chips, a pint of beer, and some great classics on the jukebox – you are about to enter the most chill pub in town – of course an Irish one. The game is right away very cool, the feel of it is very relaxing and you will get into the right Friday-mood at any given time. It is a game made in flawless graphics and details, and you will have a hard time leaving when entered.

The symbols and animations that can turn up on the reels are all made to be as rewarding as possible, as well as matching to the theme. The low valued symbols (when not triggering the bonus) are the letters, spelling B, O, N, U, S. These are worth between 100 and 250 coins for a 5x symbol combination. Apart from this, you have the pint of beer, the plate of fish and chips, the nuts, the whiskey on the rocks, and the beer barrel. This is the top player of the basic symbols, and is worth a win of 1000 coins.

Apart from these, you have a few extra special symbols that can grant you with features and incredible wins. The Wild symbol is the lucky clover, the welcome poster of the dude in the pub is the Free spins symbol, and the pint also has an extra special feature – this as a multiplying symbol. The most rewarding symbols, when managing to land all of them on a special combination, this is the spelling of B O N U S. This can grant you with an explicit bonus game. We will get more into this soon.

Down the Pub theme, graphics, and music

Down the Pub offers a relaxing and innovative theme – yet very simple. It is a night at the pub with the guys, traditional Irish style. You can see the ginger Irish guy with a leather jacket, skinny jeans, and the oh so lovely beer belly sitting at the bar next to the reels. He occasionally takes a sip from his beer, watching you roll in the wins. The reels are set up in front of the bar, with an overview of the shelfs filled with booze of all kinds, and in the backdrop you can see the jukebox.

The graphics and the designs are incredibly impressive, and you can see the small details that makes this game so great. Even the way the guy drinks, the bubbles in the beer, and how you can see him breathing. Along with this, you have the classic music from the jukebox in the background and it creates a very relaxed atmosphere. Just like it is on the real Irish pubs.

Down the Pub payout

You will be playing Down the Pub on 15 fixed paylines, along with 5 reels on 3 rows. Since the lines are fixed, you will be betting on all in each bet. These bets range from a minimum of € 0.30 up to a max bet of € 75. The total line bet is therefor of € 5.

Down the Pub bonus game

When you manage to land B+O+N+U+S – you trigger the bonus game in certain positions. Here you will be playing a classic fruit machine to win cash prizes. You spin to move across the board while collecting payouts. You have three lives in the bonus, and every bomb you hit will take a life away. When you are all out, the bonus will end. There are a number of symbols and feature within this bonus and they all have various abilities. For example, you have multipliers, wilds, jackpots, nudges, and boosts. The possibility of receiving grand cash are great in Down the Pub bonus game.

Down the Pub free spins

The welcome poster is the Scatter symbol of the game, and this has the ability to activate the free spins feature when three of them appears on the reels.

The pint of beer has a key role in this feature, as it acts as a Multiplying symbol. While in the free spins, landing on pints can grant you with multipliers.

1 pint grant you a 2x multiplier

2 pints grants you a 3x multiplier

3 pints grants you a 10x multiplier

These pints can only appear on reel 3 and only in the free spins feature. It also acts as a Wild symbol here and can create extra wins for you. The free spins feature ends when you land on the third pint of the game.

Down the Pub special feature

Wild symbol

During the base game, the lucky clover is the Wild symbol of the game. This can step in to replace all symbols except for the Scatter and the Pint. This to create new and more winning combinations.

Play our range of Free Fruit Machines games with nudges and hold features on any device, desktop computers or mobile. Our totally free online fruit machines load on any suitable phone or tablet - Android, iOS, and most smartphone platforms.
For those that don't know, fruit machine games are a very popular variation of slots machines. They are fairly common in the UK. Typically found in UK pubs and clubs. As well as fish and chip shops, seaside arcades, Snooker Halls, Bingo Halls etc. They are sometimes referred to as a 'Pub Fruity'. You can play our free fruit machines and win real money prizes. Scroll down further if you'd like to read more information about the history of fruit machines. As well as tips on how to play them.

1980s Fruit Machines Machine

There are a few differences between a standard slots machine and a fruit machine game. The main difference is the slots bonus games. On a typical fruit machine, you will find that there are features which include Nudge buttons, Hold buttons and Repeat buttons. Nudge and Hold features give players strategic choices. Which you will generally not get with slots games. Some fruit machine players believe that using these features can give skilled players an edge.
Dedicated fruit machine players may have in-depth knowledge of particular fruit machines. There are even websites and forums where 'professional' fruit machine players gather to exchange tips and strategy.
Fruit machines are a popular type of slots machine and there is an ever growing number of them at online casinos. We have had a look at the best fruit machines available online.
Other features that make a fruit machine different from a slots machine include cash pots, cash ladders, and bonus trails.

How To Play Fruit Machines

If you've played slot machines before you should have no problem grasping the basics of fruit machine games. Playing fruit machines is similar to slots. But as mentioned above, there are a few differences. Understanding the key features of a fruit machine, as detailed below, is the key to success!

Cash Ladder

Cash ladders are found on all fruit machine games. They are simple to understand and are a key part of the fruit machine experience. With the potential to win ever larger sums of money as you move up a cash ladder towards the jackpot payout. In the U.K. the maximum jackpot is actually governed by British gaming laws.
Typically, on standard cash ladders, players get the opportunity to stop a light flashing as it moves up and down the cash ladder at rapid speed. If you can stop it on a cash prize then you win that amount. You can see a good example of this type of cash ladder in our Spooky Fruity fruit machine.
You can also find games with cash ladders that you move up one step at a time over the course of a game. Moving slowly but surely higher up the cash ladder towards the jackpot. Which keeps players motivated to carry on playing. But all these fruit machines involve an element of chance. There is the risk that you may be sent back one or more spaces on the cash ladder or, even worse, you may be sent right to square one!

Fruit Machine Online

Bonus Board

On fruit machines, a bonus board (also known as a bonus trail). Is typically made up of a grid or series of graphics that light up rapidly and at random. Players must press a 'Stop' button to stop the random flashing and win whatever reward is lit up at the time.
The type of bonus players can win varies from game to game. These can include winning cash, winning nudges or winning a gamble game or cash ladder feature etc. Skilled players may boast that they have developed mastery over a particular game and can stop the bonus board wherever they wish.

Hi Lo Bonus

The Hi-Lo feature on fruit machine games is a fifty-fifty style gamble feature. Players can choose to try to double their winnings by guessing if a number will be higher or lower than a number on display. A wrong guess means the players lose their win and this can lead to a lot of British swear words! An element of strategy may appear to be involved. But remember that, ultimately, what happens after you've pressed 'Hi' or 'Lo' is really up to the computer code at the heart of the fruit machine.

Nudge buttons

Nudge buttons are an integral part of fruit machines and can help you create a winning payline. When you have nudges available. You can press the nudge buttons to move the symbols on the reel(s) of your choice down by one or more steps depending upon the number of nudges you have.
The number of nudges you can have will vary depending upon the game you are playing.

Hold buttons

1980s Fruit Machines Youtube

Hold buttons are a very useful feature on a fruit machine. They allow you to opt to hold one or more reels and then spin the remainder. This feature is typically employed to hold two of the same symbol in the hope that the next spin will result in the winning payline being completed by a third matching symbol. Some players who claim they know how to beat a particular machine may claim it's possible to memorize the best reel holding strategies.