Cops n Robbers Slots

Whether you consider yourself a goodie or a baddie, you’re sure to have fun playing Cops n Robbers, the 5-reel, non-progressive video slot from software firm OpenBet. This entertaining, crime-themed slot gives players the chance to crack the safe and win up to 1,000 coins; the question is, will you get away with the hard-won lucre? Or hang around and wind up frittering most of your ill-gotten swag trying to make lightning strike twice? One thing’s for sure, there’s plenty of wins to be had: all combinations pay right to left as well as left to right.

Cops n Robbers features 9 configurable paylines, and a cast of entertaining and cartoonish characters make their presence known on the reels. And while there are no scatters, free spins or multipliers, the betting range is wide, stretching from 0.25 to 90 per spin. There’s also a bonus game to sink your teeth into. Let’s see if we can keep one step ahead of those vengeful, truncheon-wielding bobbies, shall we?

Casing the Joint

There’s nothing wildly unique about Cobs n Robbers from a visual standpoint, but it’s not gilding the lily to say that the game is well-made. The reel grid appears against the backdrop of a city skyline, darkened tower blocks illuminated by blinking apertures of light as the sun goes down. Either side of the reels, vehicles speed past – on the left, a procession of blue cop cars, their sirens flashing; on the right, the yellow getaway car, the bandit driver grinning dementedly as he accelerates from the scene of the crime. Banknotes flutter in the air, suggestive of the spoils which may lay in store for lucky players.

At the foot of the reel grid, there are entertaining little slogans and statements, which change as you spin: ‘Your money or your life’, ‘Why you dirty rat!’, ‘Stick ‘em up!’, ‘Nobody move…this is a robbery.’ It’s a nice touch. Below the slogans are buttons which let you regulate the number of paylines or spin the reels. There’s also an Auto Spin button.

Breaking the Bank

Happily, all symbols in the Cops n Robbers slot accord with the premise. As such, you won’t find any playing cards no matter how hard you look. Instead, there are hangdog convicts posing for mug shots in black and white striped duds, angry cops, a smudgy fingerprint, a safe, a blue siren, a red getaway car, a pile of cash and a cartoonish bomb icon represented by a black sphere and flaming touchpaper.

The wild symbol, which acts as a surrogate for others in the game, is the red getaway car. The icon has only one use in the slot, and that’s to replace others to help you form pay wins; it is not linked with values in its own right.

The only other special symbol is the safe, which has the word BONUS written below it. This one starts the lone special feature, whereby you’ll be asked to spin a ‘wheel of fortune’. Depending on the result, you’ll either get to crack open a safe to reveal a hidden prize, pinch an artwork in a gallery (again, to reveal a hidden prize) or go to ‘jail’ (i.e. return to the base game). You can also win modest cash prizes on the wheel itself.

Among the regular icons, the best-paying is – rather obviously – the one marked Jackpot. This bomb pays 50 for three, 100 for four and 1,000 for all five in a line. The pile of banknotes and gold coins pays 25 for three, 75 for four and 500 for five, while the goateed convict pays 10 for three, 50 for four and 100 for five. The pay-outs, on the whole, are quite modest, though the animations are strong, with winning combinations activating sound effects to commemorate wins. When you land three, four or five matching icons, the word BUSTED will flash upon the symbols, with a voice yelling, ‘Oh, no!’

Sadly, there is no scatter icon in Cops n Robbers. Presumably OpenBet believes players will appreciate the fact that they can form winning combinations in both directions, and that this rule renders a scatter unnecessary. We’re probably inclined to agree.

Fleeing the scene

The cops and robbers theme is as old as the hills, but OpenBet have designed a slot that is imaginative, funny and potentially lucrative. Who knows, you might even make a clean getaway with the 1,000 credit jackpot.