More Games by WMS Industries
Game & Theme Overview
Boasting WMS Industries’ state of the art Sensory Immersion
2.0 player participation platform, the Willy Wonka & The
Chocolate Factory slot machine is powered by the CPU-NXT3
computing system. Players will see high resolution video clips
from the eponymous film, hear streaming audio clips and music,
all while enjoying graphics and animations which resemble a
video game more than a traditional slot machine.
The fact that WMS Industries’ Willy Wonka & The Chocolate
Factory slot sports a seamless video game like feel should come
as no surprise. Beginning in 1943, the company specialized in
designing and manufacturing pinball machines, before moving on
to arcade games in the 1970s and 1980s. By 1996, a shift to
video slot machines occurred, but WMS Industries maintained its
commitment to interactive entertainment, coining the term
“participation slot” with the release of a Monopoly themed game
in 2001. Eventually, WMS Industries would release dozens on
participation slots, with several classic movie titles like The
Wizard of Oz, Men in Black, and Lord of the Rings highlighting
the company’s portfolio.
Of course, among the film fan’s favorite slot machine
offerings, Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory is perhaps one of
the most beloved additions to the genre. The game is based on
the 1971 film starring Gene Wilder as an eccentric chocolatier
and candy impresario Willy Wonka, which in turn was based on
author Roald Dahl’s seminal 1964 children’s book “Charlie and
the Chocolate Factory.”
Known the world over for its almost psychedelic blend of
bright colors, unforgettable visuals, and Wilder’s musical
mutations on the song “Pure Imagination,” the original Willy
Wonka & The Chocolate Factory film told the story of young
Charlie Bucket (Peter Ostrum). Growing up in poverty as a young
English boy, Charlie yearns for adventure and advancement, but
as an orphan living with his four grandparents, opportunities
are sparse.
When the famous Willy Wonka suddenly comes out of
self-imposed reclusion and offers five fortunate people a chance
to tour his legendary chocolate factory, Charlie hopes against
hope to find one of the rare Golden Tickets hidden in a Wonka
chocolate bar.
While his friends purchase hundreds of bars at a time, and
rich adults practically hoard the world’s chocolate supply,
Charlie can only buy a single Wonka bar with a coin he finds on
in the gutter. Despite the overwhelming odds against him,
Charlie finds a Golden Ticket and proceeds to take his Grandpa
Joe (Jack Albertson) on the adventure of a lifetime. Along with
a motley crew of colorful characters, Wilder’s Willy Wonka
proceeds to take his guests, and the audience, on a whirlwind
tour defined by grand illusions and impossible mysteries.
The Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory slot machine
faithfully recreates that epic journey, allowing players to row
down the factory’s famed Chocolate River. The orange skinned
Oompa Loompas make an appearance during their own bonus feature,
and lucky players can even enjoy a ride through the skies in the
Great Glass Elevator. The quirky catchphrases which made
Wilder’s performance one for the ages are also included, so
you’ll hear actual audio from the film as Wonka tells you “all
of my dreams become realities, and some of my realities become
dreams.” The film’s unforgettable soundtrack also accompanies
the in game action, and after just a few spins you’ll feel as if
you’re touring the factory like Charlie and the other children.
As actor Rusty Goff, who played one of the Oompa Loompas in
the film, said of the game’s immersive qualities:
“Nearly every day fans of the motion picture tell me
how wonderful it is to experience the Chocolate Factory’s
wonder, excitement, thrills and sense of danger through the
perspective of Charlie’s eyes; and this all-new gaming
experience from WMS does a terrific job of re-creating that
entertaining adventure through the chocolate universe for slot
players. I am so excited to see the content that has brought joy
for so many years to so many people extended in such an
innovative new game.”
During a stroll through the casino floor, you can’t miss the
Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory slot. The word Wonka sits
atop the machine in rainbow colors, with a portrait of the
Wilder and his custom purple leisure suit and top hat. The
signage is complete with an arrangement of character portraits
featuring Veruca Salt, Violet Beauregarde, Augustus Gloop, and
Mike Teevee. Everything is presented with a purple hue, and by
the time fans of the film hear the familiar melody of “Pure
Imagination” piping through the sound system, they’re drawn in
the machine’s direction.
As a cutting edge video slot game, Willy Wonka & The
Chocolate Factory doesn’t have the traditional title screen and
background screen found in most slots. Instead, you’ll see a
revolving animation showing clips from the movie which
corresponds to the in game features. Everything from the Fizzy
Lifting Drink room to the factory’s surreal candy garden will
appear in the background of your screen, depending on which
features you happen to trigger. The overall effect of this
gameplay setup is that of watching the actual movie itself, and
the game attempts to show the journey as it would appear through
Charlie Bucket’s own eyes.
During the actual base game, reel symbols include the
traditional card rank symbols used by most slots, so you’ll find
the J, Q, K, and A with each symbol accompanied by a different
candy.
Among the themed character symbols you can expect to find
during the base game are Willy Wonka himself, Charlie Bucket,
Grandpa Joe, and the Oompa Loompas. You’ll also see an
arrangement of symbols representing iconic images from the
movie, including the fizzy lifting drink, the goose and her
golden eggs, the Everlasting Gobstopper, the televised chocolate
camera, the great glass elevator, and the Golden Ticket.
Gameplay Features and Mechanics
Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory is a five reel, 40 pay
line video slot machine.
With four symbol spots on each reel, the game includes 20
symbols in play on every spin.
Coin denominations for the game begin at $0.01, so
technically it falls within the penny slot category, but you’ll
need to activate all 40 pay lines per spin. This puts the
minimum cost to cover per spin at $0.40.
You can also increase the coin denomination by one penny at a
time, up to $0.05, so the maximum cost to cover per spin stands
at $2.00.
A nickel slot version of the game also exists, and when
playing on the $0.05 minimum machines, the numbers above would
simply be multiplied by five.
Like most WMS Industries slot games, Willy Wonka & the
Chocolate Factory includes the company’s familiar gameplay
setup. You’ll be playing with wild symbols, scatter symbols,
multipliers, bonus games, and other fun features.
The game is also connected to a wide area progressive
jackpot, one which paid out $911,230.73 at the Palace Casino
Resort in Biloxi, Mississippi on May 6th, 2014, and
$1,391,728.01 at the Lodge Casino in Black Hawk, Colorado on
September 14th, 2014. On December 17th, 2014 another player won
$1,115,523 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
A list of basic game specifications for the Willy Wonka slot
can be found below:
- Wilds: Yes
- Free Spins: Yes
- Multiplier: Yes
- Bonus Game: Yes
- Progressive: Yes
- Return to Player: Unknown
During the base game, the most valuable symbol on the reels
is Willy Wonka himself. Unfortunately, a detailed breakdown of
the game’s pay table has not been published, but as a low
volatility machine, players can expect to receive smaller line
pays which occur more frequently than other games.
Based on watching video clips of actual gameplay, payouts
appear to range from 50 credits for landing three Charlie Bucket
symbols, to 285 credits for landing three Willy Wonka symbols.
Four of the Willy Wonka symbols in a row pays out 975 credits.
Four of a kind in Grandpa Joe symbols pays out 150 credits, and
five of the Charlie Bucket symbols will return 890 credits.
During the base game, the Willy Wonka, Grandpa Joe, and Oompa
Loompas symbols will each appear as double sized symbols,
occupying two spaces along a reel rather than one. This allows
them to create winning combinations more easily than the other
symbols.
The Oompa Loompas symbol is the wild symbol during the base
game, and it can substitute for any other symbol except the
scatter symbol to form winning combinations.
The scatter symbol is the great glass elevator symbol during
the base game, and it can generate winning combinations from
anywhere on the reels. Even better, the great glass elevator
symbol transports you directly to the game’s assortment of nine
interactive bonus games.
Triggering the Bonus Rounds
Whenever you land three or more of the great glass elevator
scatter symbols on the screen, you’ll trigger Willy Wonka & The
Chocolate Factory’s wide array of entertaining bonus features.
Before entering the bonus rounds, you’ll be treated to a
virtual ride on the great glass elevator. The main game screen
will direct you to look up as the high resolution video screen
above shows the great glass elevator soaring through the skies.
As it does, the game’s motion sensing chair will move and rock
along with the action, providing a full on sensory experience.
The great glass elevator will dodge various symbols on the
screen until hitting one, and each of these symbols represents
one of the nine available bonus games. You may also hit a
predetermined credit amount of a few thousand credits.
The bonus games are separated into Picks and Spins, with the
main characters from the movie representing each category. Mike
Teevee, Augustus Gloop, and Violet Beauregarde represent Pick
games, for example, while Willy Wonka, Charlie Bucket, Grandpa
Joe contain Spin games.
Spin Games
Should your great glass elevator arrive on a Spin game,
you’ll be presented with a screen showing five candy suckers.
Based on which candy you select, you’ll receive an allotment of
between 7 and 12 free spins, and that’s where the real fun
begins.
During a free spin bonus game, whichever character your great
glass elevator landed on becomes a stacked wild. This means that
character’s symbol will cover entire reels at one time during
each spin, generating winning combinations all across the screen
whenever matching symbols appear. You can have the stacked wild
character symbol cover one, two, three, four, or even all five
of the reels at one time, which triggers massive payouts.
Because the Willy Wonka symbol is the most lucrative in the
game, players are hoping to hit the Willy Wonka free spins bonus
game, but even the Charlie Bucket or Grandpa Joe free spins
round can prove profitable due to the inclusion of stacked
wilds.
Pick Games
The Pick games you can enter via the great glass elevator are
simple touch screen pick’em games, with a number of symbols on
the screen concealing various credit prizes. During the Violet
Beauregarde Everlasting Gobstopper pick game, for example,
you’ll see 20 of the infinitely tasty candies on the screen.
Your job is simply to select one and see what happens.
You may land on a credit amount which begins at 1,200 credits
and tops out at 10,000 credits or hit the Exploding Gobstopper.
This pick will blow up the rest of the non-credit Exploding
Gobstoppers on the screen, leaving you with only credit values
to choose from. Both the Mike Teevee and Augustus Gloop pick
bonus games to work in identical fashion, with players choosing
from 20 Everlasting Gobstoppers, some exploding the rest, and
others concealing credit amounts.
Oompa Loompas Bonus Game
Another bonus game your great glass elevator can land on
features the Oompa Loompas, who will perform a song and dance
routine for you. While they do, the reels on the screen will
lengthen vertically to occupy both the main reel screen and the
overhead video screen. This means you’ll have up to 10 reels to
work with during the next round of free spins, meaning the much
higher likelihood of landing winning combinations.
Before the Oompa Loompas free spin bonus game begins, you’ll
also receive a random multiplier which will apply to all
subsequent winnings. Topping things off, because the Oompa
Loompas symbol is the game’s wild symbol, entire reels will
randomly be filled with wilds during each free spin. Between the
addition of extra symbol spaces with lengthened reels, and
entire reels turning wild, this bonus game can easily return
30,000 credits or more.
Chocolate River Bonus Game
The most interactive bonus game in Willy Wonka & The
Chocolate factory occurs when your great glass elevator arrives
on the boat symbol. This opens up the Chocolate River bonus
game, in which you’ll pilot the boat down the famous river of
chocolate from the film. Using the game’s high definition screen
and motion activated seat, you’ll steer the boat down a flowing
river of chocolate, all while trying to gather up free credits,
extra rides, multipliers, and other treats.
Finally, after completing any of the bonus round games listed
above, you’ll be taken to a side screen displaying 10 Wonka
chocolate bars arranged in a bowling pin like a pyramid. The
Wonka bars will be unwrapped one by one, revealing either
nothing but chocolate, or a medium sized credit amount.
Fittingly, the Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory slot
machine includes a small batch of Golden Tickets within these
chocolate bars. If you happen to see the flash of gold after one
of your Wonka bars is opened, you’ll automatically receive a
jackpot bonus of 500,000 credits. For penny slot players, this
means finding a Golden Ticket will trigger a payout of $5,000.
Summary
The Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory video slot machine is
clearly designed for fans of the 1971 film, and for that segment
of the player base, the game is nearly perfect.
But even if you’ve never seen the movie, or even read the
book, this title represents everything a modern slot machine can
offer. Between the $5,000 jackpot payout for finding a Golden
Ticket, the game’s seamless integration of video and audio
clips, and no less than nine interactive bonus games, players
will enjoy a full-fledged sensory experience.
