IGT’s Little Shop of Horrors slot machine features three-dimensional, man-eating Venus flytraps that grow from the reels’ edges and base. The reel set is hexagonal, with five symbols in the middle reel, four on the second and fourth reels, and three on the outer reels. It is also has a “Tumbling Reels” feature, which adds to winning combinations as the winning symbols disappear and new reel spots tumble into place.
The symbols are based on the play’s original characters; Seymour (the nerdy young florist shop assistant) rolls his eyes and scratches his head; Audrey (a sweet, quiet, ditsy and insecure co-worker) winks and throws kisses; Orin (Audrey’s abusive and sadistic dentist boyfriend ) smirks and waves his dental equipment around and Mr. Mushnik (the penny-pinching owner of the Flower Shop) throws money.
The Tumbling Reels game play occurs whenever the plant symbol appears on the center reel in a winning combination. All symbols that are in a winning combination disappear and new ones fall into place. The plant then tumbles to the bottom of the center reel and continues to grow larger each time it is part of a winning combination. The plants say, “Feed me,” accompanied by loud-crunching. If it gets to be full size (after four tumbles), you get the “Pick a Bud” bonus feature. During this bonus seven or eight “buds” appear and you choose one. The prizes can be more credits, a multiplier of the win, or a free games feature. In the free-spin round, extra symbols turn wild, and the Venus plants crunch away. Each time the plant grows to full size, the player gets more free games and additional symbols turn wild.
Years ago I did props for a local theater group. Little Shop of Horrors was the first play I was ever involved in. As such it holds a special place in memories. So I was delighted when I came across this game at Sam’s Town and later in the week at Club Fortune. I played it at both locations and cashed out ahead both times.
The first time I played at Sam’s Town. You could play from 25¢ to $1.25. I played two credits per line for 50¢.
The 3-D graphics and sounds are great. I found myself anxiously waiting for the “plant” to appear, which it did quite frequently. It took several times before my “plant” managed to attain full growth and chomp its way to the top of the reels. I picked the “bud” with eight free spins and the Audrey symbol as an additional wild. On the seventh free spin the “plant” appeared but didn’t make it to the top of the reels. I won $6.24. The next time the opportunity came to choose I picked a credit amount of 240. The next time I got the free spins and when the “plant” appeared during the free spins it got to the top. I got eight more spins with Audrey and Seymour wild. This time I ended the bonus winning $34.36 and cashed out at $45.