Thunder Ball Slot Review & Free Play

Thunder Ball: Pull the Lever on This Fruit Machine for 1,000x Jackpots

ELA Games has gone full-fledged one-armed bandit style and skinned that classic idea into what we now know as Thunder Ball. The addition of four jackpots worth up to 1,000x, multipliers in the bonus round, and a cash collection mechanic kept me spinning for more than 300 rounds in this retro setup.

It’s nothing flashy, just a three-reel, three-row slot with five paylines. Any classic-themed video slot filled with fruits, sevens, stars, and bells already has a lot riding on only five paylines. Add a collector mechanic, jackpots, and cash symbols on top of that, and you hardly have the ideal recipe for frequent base game wins.

As expected, I was landing a hit every 6 to 7 spins, with average returns sitting between 3x and 4x my bet. Perhaps as compensation, the base game wins were rare but highly rewarding. After long droughts, I came across payouts of 20x and 22x, along with several 10x and 12x wins.

Just to spice things up, there is also a Lucky Respin feature that triggers randomly, giving you one free spin during the base game. It occurred around 20 times during my session. The cash collector symbols also brought some hope, though not enough tangible results to make a difference to my bankroll.

Landing any cash symbol alongside the collector symbol in the middle can trigger the bonus round. However, it took me nearly 80 spins to reach the hold and spin feature. Here, a 2x multiplier can randomly stick to any cash symbol, and thanks to one of those boosts, I walked away with a 72x return.

Sadly, I didn't manage to trigger another bonus round throughout the rest of my 300+ spin session. There is no bonus buy option either; otherwise, I might have given that a shot as well.

The one addition I would suggest for Thunder Ball is a gamble feature. With such a low base game hit frequency, the chance to push smaller wins a little further could have given this old-school machine the extra spark it’s missing.