Golden Era is an online slots game from developer Microgaming that pays tribute to the Golden Age of Hollywood, back in the 40s and 50s, when stars were never caught shuffling about in stretch pants. Golden Era uses photo-realistic graphics for its icons and animations, and plays on five reels displaying three rows each.
All the symbols, in normal play and bonus features, are based on the paraphernalia of films and their stars. It has 15 fixed bet lines, which means players must play all 15 on every spin, but the bet per line is adjustable, so players can play Golden Era for as little as 15c per spin. As is usual in slots game, a win requires three of a kind or better, in unbroken sequence from Reel 1. Golden Era has an adjustable autoplay function, for players who don’t want to keep clicking on the spin button.
Normal Golden Era Symbols
The poker symbols that many slots games use as low-value icons do not appear in Golden Era; instead, its low-value symbols are film-related. There are movie tickets, star handprints in cement, a reel of film, a projector, an award and an old-fashioned limousine. Prizes for these symbols range from five coins, for three movie tickets, up to 200 coins for five limousines.
The higher-value symbols in regular play are all human characters; in ascending order of prize value, they are a paparazzo photographer, a champagne-toasting old gossip columnist, a male star, a female star, and the two stars together in a romantic clinch. Prizes for these symbols range from 200 coins, for three photographers, to 10,000 coins, for five couples.
Several Wild and Bonus Features
A spotlit marquee labelled either “Golden Era” or “Wild” is the Golden Era Wild symbol, substituting for all other symbols except the Scatter, to increase the possibility of winning bet lines.
Wilds also score prizes for their own combinations; from 200 coins for three of a kind to 20,000 coins for five of a kind. The Golden Era Scatter symbol is a clapperboard; two or more Scatters in any position win a variety of prizes, but three or more also trigger a bonus round.
Players can choose between two options when a bonus feature is triggered: Free Spins, or the Double Feature Bonus. The Free Spins bonus consists of 12 free spins, but with an added feature called Embracing Wilds. On the first free spin, the actor and actress appear as Wilds covering the whole of Reels 1 and 5. On the second free spin, they move closer, on Reels 2 and 4.
On the third free spin, they embrace on Reel 3. This pattern repeats itself four times during the 12 free spins, greatly increasing the number of winning bet lines possible. A 2X multiplier immediately increases any wins featuring the embracing couple on Reel 3. If the player of slots or pokies opts for the Double Feature Bonus, the animation transfers the player to the outside of the cinema, facing a wall displaying 10 classic movie posters with the same theme. The player picks posters one at a time, revealing cash rewards or a golden award that serves to multiply the total win. If the player picks a poster that gets a rotten tomato thrown at it, the round ends and the total win is awarded.