Better Off Ed

A Friendly Zombie Themed Slot with Locking Wild Symbols

Zombie slot are all the rage at the moment. The Walking Dead TV series having brought this genre from the realm of B-movies back into the mainstream. Ed, the main character in this slot, is a far friendlier type of zombie. The Better Off Ed slot is a cartoon-like design. It features disembodied eyes, a full moon over a graveyard and even a brain.

There is a lot going on in this game. Ed appears at random to drop wilds onto the screen. Bats fly past giving you access to a picks game (and jackpot wheel if you pick right). The highlight is a free spins bonus game, where wilds become sticky – locking on to the reels for the duration of your bonus.

Better Off Ed – Setup and Base Game

Compared to the depth of the features, the setup of this slot is straightforward. There are 30 win-lines, which are not adjustable. You can spin from 30c and up from there. Wins start at 3 of a kind. You’ll need to see the spider-web animation for a 5 of a kind win before the prizes start to get decent.

The highest paying symbol is Ed. You will see a very green zombie head, looking a mix of friendly and weird. Other higher paying symbols include a graveyard silhouetted against a full moon, a gravestone with an arm appearing from the ground, and a ‘Caution’ sign, showing a walking stick-drawing of a zombie.

Wild symbols show the word ‘Wild’ with a red background with a brain design. These appear on reels 2 through 5, and help make up wins by combining with the regular symbols.

Playing card symbols make up the smaller wins. With so much else going on in the game, these do not dominate the reels.

Ed Appears at random in the base game. He will sometimes pop up from over the reels, and other times walk in front of them. When he appears, he drops extra wilds onto the reels – sometimes a lot of them.

Locking Wilds in the Free Spins Bonus

3 special free spins symbols need to hit reels 1 to 3 to trigger this bonus. You’ll then get 10 free spins. Any wilds that hit during this feature get a little padlock on them, and stay in place. As the bonus progresses, you can have a lot of spots covered in wilds – making it better as you go.

You can retrigger for 5 more spins with 3 of the bonus symbols. Retriggers are extra valuable, since the end of this bonus is the most profitable part.

Graveyard Picks Game

At random bats (a lot of them!) will fly over the reels. Those reels then disappear, leaving 2 rows of gravestones in their place. You pick 3 of these. Most of them have a win in credits behind. One has a wheel symbol, which has a skull in the middle of it.

If you get the skull you go to a second screen, which shows a big wheel, with a zombie arm as the stopper. There are free games, credit prizes or jackpot wins on this wheel. You get to spin once to see what you have won!

Dramatic Cartoon Zombie Design

This slot comes with a tall screen, and Bally have made the most of this space to put together an entertaining and dramatic design. Ed has a quirky look. He wants to be fierce, though ends up looking quite sweet. Sound effects are like those moments from a movie when classical music strikes up for the dramatic fight scenes.

You will find plenty of animations. My favourite is when Ed walks over the screen dropping wilds. Unexpectedly (at least the first time) he then turns towards you, opens his mouth and you see this getting bigger and bigger until he bites the entire screen. The wheel bonus is also well designed. This wheel looks like it was constructed out of bones!

Do You Have the ‘Brains’ to Play Better Off Ed?

The Better Off Ed slots machine is an easy recommendation for a fun session next time you see it in a live casino. There are all the right elements in one game. The base reels have random extra wilds for sudden wins. There are also two bonus games. While 10 free spins might seem low, you can easily get 5+ locked wilds, bring you plenty of wins for those last few spins. The graveyard bonus can get you to the wheel – and so the progressive jackpots are in play.