In the rich, varied world of online casino gaming, players have a tendency to get into certain patterns.
That is, they usually find their favorite games, and return to them over and over again.
This is all well and good, but sometimes a chance of pace is what’s called for. No one can play the same game day after day, week after week, year after year, without needing a bit of variety!
This can present more of a challenge for devotees of roulette than it might for, say, fans of online slot gaming.
Why?
Well, slot players have gotten used to the release of new titles, each claiming to have completely re-invented the genre. When most players think of roulette, on the other hand, they imagine what they’ve seen in classic films like Casablanca or the James Bond franchise: a single, beautiful wheel, usually at a brick-and-mortar casino, where formally-dressed wealthy people lay the same bets over and over again.
Fortunately, there’s much more to modern roulette than just this!
There are Live Dealer tables, of course, as well as mini-games, multi-reel games, 3D tables, and much more. Here are five variants on roulette that are absolutely worth trying out.
1) Marvel Roulette
This marvelous variant was the first of its kind, and released by the reliably excellent team at Playtech.
The designers borrowed some of the best features of their industry-leading slot games, and introduced them to roulette play.
For example, there are progressive jackpots, adding the possibility of a massive payday on every single spin, no matter the bet size.
There is a bonus game, triggered by the ball landing on the “marvel” position added to the wheel, which offers an independent, three-wheel mini game where players can win massive prizes.
There are a number of ‘racetrack’ betting options as well, so that side bets such as Neighbour bets, Tiers du Cylindre, and Les Orphelins are made stylish and readily available.
And of course, there is Marvel branding everywhere, from Spiderman to the Incredible Hulk.
All of this was new to online roulette gaming at the time it was released, and has had a massive influence on the genre. For those who haven’t yet tried it out, we highly recommend sampling it.
2) Pinball Roulette
If the fresh approach brought to players in Marvel Roulette had to do with some of the conceptual elements of roulette, Ash Gaming’s Pinball Roulette delivered a purely visual innovation:
While all the fundamentals of the game were unchanged (including the mathematics involved), each round was decided not by the spinning of a roulette wheel, but in the style of a classic arcade pinball machine.
This brilliant approaches has all the advantages of traditional roulette, but provides a new way to enjoy the game.
(As it happens, the team at Playtech made their own version of Pinball Roulette, which many players might find worth checking out.)
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3) Double Ball Roulette
Sometimes the simplest ideas can have the biggest impact. Imagine a regular roulette table, but with two balls on the wheel instead of one!
That’s exactly what Evolution Gaming delivers in Double Ball Roulette.
The result?
Of course, there are twice as many winning bets per spin!
But that’s not all. Evolution states that Double Ball Roulette pays up to 1,300 to 1, which makes this a noteworthy roulette variant all on its own.
4) MultiWheel Roulette
If you can play roulette with more than one ball, why not try it with more than one wheel?
That’s what industry titan Microgaming offers players in their Multi Wheel Roulette Gold variant.
As one might imagine, this is a massive game – or more accurately, eight games in one, happening simultaneously! The action is just incredible, and it’s worth trying at least once just to experience the rush of it all.
Players often find that placing more bets than they usually would in a traditional roulette game is a favorable strategy here. It allows for more ways to win in a game where eight numbers hit per round instead of one.
5) Lightning Roulette
Another fresh approach from Evolution Gaming, Lightning Roulette was the first offering in what became a long line of Game Show features designed to explore what gaming possibilities could be explored with Live Dealer gaming.
The idea is as simple as can be!
It’s a traditional roulette game, but at random times, lighting strikes the display, adding a win multiplier of up to 500x.
As in Double Ball roulette, and as in the progressive jackpots available in Marvel roulette, this adds the possibility of a massive payout on every single bet…
… an element greatly enjoyed by slot fans, but absent from traditional roulette.
The Bottom Line
This is clearly just the beginning when it comes to innovation in online roulette play.
Nevertheless, it’s very exciting to see some of the best brands in the industry explore the cutting edge of gaming. There’s no better time to try these excellent variants out than right now, because tomorrow will bring even newer, wilder innovations! For more unusual formats, see the six wildest roulette variations, or find out why roulette is seriously underrated.