Introduction to Red Baron
The title screen for the game features the words Red Baron
written in distinctive old English script, with the lettering
colored in gold and red. The man himself occupies the right-hand
side of the title screen, with an actual portrait of the
tight-lipped Richthofen dominating the foreground. The
background of the title screen is colored in a deep hue of red
while black crosshairs target the silhouette of a fighter plane.
Finally, a medal made up of a blue cross and gold eagles hang
from the top of the title screen.
This medal is known as the Pour le Mérite, which translates
to for merit in French, and it was given to soldiers of the
German Empire who excelled on the field of battle. While many
slot machines might substitute a generic medal image here, the
folks at Aristocrat ensured that every detail of the real Pour
le Mérite was recreated, adding a certain sense of grandeur to
the game.
During the base game, the background screen for Red Baron is
much simpler, depicting only the cloudy skies which Richthofen
once conquered, but shaded in his signature red.
When it comes to the reel symbols you’ll be chasing, the
usual assortment of Aristocrat card rank symbols of 9, 10, J, Q,
and K will be in play. Notice, however, that the A card rank
symbol has been removed. The game’s themed symbols include the
following:
- Red Baron portrait
- Red fighter plane
- German woman
- Zeppelin blimp
- Weimaraner dog
- Antique radio
- Pour le Mérite medal
- Bulls eye target
Aristocrat’s commitment to a historical accuracy within its
themed slot machine lineup shines through in the Red Baron. By
incorporating bonus game missions based on targeting and
collecting planes, the company ensured that players who revered
the Red Baron’s role in military history can play the part.
Gameplay Features and Mechanics
New players sitting down for their first session on a Red
Baron slot machine may feel like a pilot jumping behind the
cockpit of a plane they’ve never flown before.
That’s because Red Baron is one of Aristocrat’s Reel Power
slot machine titles, which means the usual web of pay lines used
to connect winning combinations has been ejected. With five
reels on the screen and three symbols appearing on each reel,
players land winners whenever three of the same symbol appears
on adjacent reels, no matter which position on the reels they’ve
fallen.
The combination of five reels and 15 total symbols creates a
total of 243 possible winning combinations for players to look
for on each spin. Reel Power slot games offer a higher level of
volatility because of this, as you’ll land winners a little less
often than in a standard pay line game. To remedy this, Red
Baron offers relatively high payouts during the base game, so
players are adding a bit of risk in hopes of netting a greater
reward.
With a minimum coin denomination of $0.01, Red Baron falls
under the penny slot heading, but when playing this Reel Power
game players must pay for all five reels per spin. At five
credits per reel, this puts the minimum cost to cover per spin
at $0.25.
As a Reel Power game, Red Baron allows betting in increments
of 25 credits per spin, so players can up their bets to 50
credits, 75 credits, or 100 credits, before topping out at 125
credits.
Coin denomination levels increase in increments of single
pennies from $0.01 through $0.10, with the next jumps coming at
$0.25, $0.50, $1.00, $2.00, $5.00, $10.00, and $25.00. High
rollers aside, the majority of penny slot players will be
playing in either $0.01 or $0.05 increments, and the latter
amount offers a reasonable $1.25 cost to cover per spin.
As a Reel Power game, Red Baron offers players their choice
of reels to purchase, rather than pay lines. The cost per reel
breaks down as follows:
- Reel 1 = 1 credit
- Reels 1 – 2 = 5 credits
- Reels 1 – 3 = 10 credits
- Reels 1 – 4 = 20 credits
- Reels 1 – 5 = 25 credits
In effect, players who are accustomed to the pay line system
can envision Red Baron as a five reel, 25 pay line machine under
this system. Another way to look at the Reel Power system is by
examining the total number of possible winning combinations
you’ll have in play by purchasing various reels.
Purchasing just one reel for a single credit will activate
just seven of the 15 symbol slots on the screen, giving you only
three possible winning combinations. That number jumps to nine
possible winners and nine symbol slots when you purchase two
reels. Three reels give you 11 reel slots and 27 possible
winning combinations while four reels in play activate 13 reel
positions and gives you 81 possible winning combinations.
Finally, if you purchase all five reels, you’ll have every one
of the 15 symbol slots activated, for a total of 243 possible
winners.
All in all, the overwhelming majority of players on Reel
Power machines like Red Baron opt to purchase all five reels.
The potential for wins jumps exponentially with each reel, and
you can only activate the game’s full array of interactive bonus
features with all 15 reels available to you.
The tried and true Aristocrat formula, combining gameplay
features like wild symbols, scatter symbols, free spins, bonus
games, and multipliers, is used to provide Red Baron’s base game
structure. Players searching for huge progressive jackpot scores
will probably be better suited looking elsewhere, as the game
doesn’t offer access to payouts from a larger prize pool. For a
basic list of specifications for Red Baron, see below:
- Wilds: Yes
- Free Spins: Yes
- Multiplier: Yes
- 2x, 3x, and 5x during base game
- 10x, 15x, 25x, 60x, and 140x during bonus round
- Bonus Game: Yes
- Progressive: No
- Return to Player: 95.7%
Pay Table
During the Red Baron base game, you’ll be playing for a
reasonably generous pay table, as two symbols carry jackpot
status payouts of 1,500 credits. Landing five of a kind in
either the Red Baron portrait symbol or the red fighter plane
symbol returns the 1,500 credit reward. Four of a kind in Red
Baron portraits is good for 1,000 while three of a kind pays out
500 credits. Land four of the red fighter plane symbols and
you’ll receive 500 credits, and 200 credits come your way for
three of a kind in red fighter planes.
Five of the German woman symbols pays out 1,000 credits, and
for five of the zeppelin blimp symbols, the payout is 400
credits. If you land five of the Weimaraner dog symbols you’ll
receive 250 credits, and 200 credits are the reward for five of
the antique radio symbols. Five of the K card rank symbols pays
out 150 credits, and five of the other card rank symbols pays
out 100 credits.
Wild Symbol
The wild symbol for the Red Baron base game is the Pour le
Mérite medal symbol, which can substitute for all other symbols
except for the scatter symbol to create winning combinations.
The Pour le Mérite wild symbol only appears on the third reel,
but whenever it does, it will automatically apply a multiplier
of 2x, 3x, or 5x, to all winning combinations it helps to
create.
Scatter Symbol
The scatter symbol for the Red Baron base game is the bulls
eye target symbol, which can form winning combinations from
anywhere on the reels. It only appears on the second, third, and
fourth reels, though. Whenever the bulls eye target scatter
symbol forms part of a winning combination, the associated
payout will also be multiplied by the total bet. More
importantly, the bulls eye target scatter symbol must be hit in
order to trigger the free spins bonus round.
The Red Baron Bonus Round
Whenever the bulls eye target scatter symbol appears on the
second, third, and fourth reels at the same time, you’ll trigger
Red Baron’s free spin bonus round and earn 15 free spins.
Following along with the game’s military minded theme, Red
Baron offers players their choice of five distinct missions and
an extra mission before beginning the free spins bonus round. In
each of the missions, your objective is to collect a
predetermined number of the red fighter plane symbols as you can
during the free spin allotment.
Chasing more of the red fighter plane symbols is obviously
more difficult, so you’ll earn higher payouts, while attacking a
smaller number offers smaller, but safer, gains. Adding to the
intrigue, you can retrigger the free spin bonus game and earn 15
additional free spins whenever you land three more bulls eye
target symbols.
The five bonus missions and extra mission are explained in
detail below, with the multiplier applying to the total credits
bet on the triggering spin:
Mission 1
Collect four or more red fighter plane symbols to win 10x
total credits bet
Mission 2
Collect eight or more red fighter plane symbols to win 15x
total credits bet
Mission 3
Collect 12 or more red fighter plane symbols to win 25x total
credits bet
Mission 4
Collect 16 or more red fighter plane symbols to win 60x total
credits bet
Mission 5
Collect 20 or more red fighter plane symbols to win 140x
total credits bet
Extra Mission
Collect 25 or more red fighter plane symbols to win an extra
40x total credits bet
For players betting the minimum of $0.25 per spin, entering
the free spins bonus round and searching the skies for 20 red
fighter plane symbols would net $35.00, or 25 x 140. When you up
the ante to $1.25 per spin, as many Red Baron fans prefer,
scoring the 20 red fighter plane kills will return a bounty of
$175.00.
Summary
The Red Baron slot machine by Aristocrat continues the
company’s tradition of using small, yet crucial, details to
strengthen a historically themed game.
World War I buffs, pilots, or military members who studied
Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen’s true impact on the
history of aerial combat will appreciate Aristocrat’s attention
to detail. And slot fans who couldn’t tell the Red Baron from
G.I. Joe will still find themselves sitting for long sessions
after they trigger a few of the mission-oriented free spin bonus
rounds.
