Game of the Week – Take the Bank
Take the Bank is the latest 5-Reel online pokie from BetSoft. The game features a fun cops and robbers theme with a Detonating Wilds feature that gives you a chance for a big win every 10 spins. The game also has a lucrative Free Spins Bonus that you can either trigger naturally or buy directly.
While the game is fun to play, the symbols are somewhat low paying, making it tough to truly “Take the Bank.” Learn more about this game and some of the Australian online casinos where it is available.
Take the Bank a Fun Cops and Robbers Themed Pokie
Take the Bank is the latest 5-Reel, 75 payline pokie from BetSoft. The game features a fun cops and robbers theme with a soundtrack that seems to have been plucked from Inspector Gadget. The symbols for this game are what you’d expect from this theme, with crowbars, bombs, bank vaults, cash, gold, and diamonds as symbols.
One thing you will notice about this game right away is that all of the symbols are somewhat low paying. You are not going to turn a profit on most single-line wins unless you hit 5 gold bars or 5 diamonds. This makes you completely reliant on making multi-line wins.
Fortunately, there are a few features that will help you achieve larger wins.
Detonating Wilds
This game has a Detonating Wilds feature that is triggered every 10 spins. When you first start the game, the Master Bomb Counter starts at 10 and counts down 1 until it reaches zero. During this countdown, any Robbers that appear on reels will turn into a bomb and will hover over the reels.
When the Master Bomb Counter reaches zero, all bombs become Wild symbols, and any winning combinations made with those wilds are paid out. The counter is then reset and you start over again.
Note that five Wild symbols on a payline are equal to five diamonds, giving you the max payout for that line.
Free Spins Bonus
The police car is the scatter for this game. When you get three police cars on reels 2, 3, and 4, you will trigger the Free Spins Bonus. For this bonus, you will get 15 free spins with 5, 7, or 10 wild symbols scattered on the board.
During the Free Spins Bonus, the wilds will move to a location during each spin. This gives you a greater chance to hit a huge winning combination. After the free spins are concluded, all winnings are paid out. Note that this bonus does not advance the Master Bomb Counter.
Buy Feature
Like many BetSoft games, this game gives you the option to Buy the Free Spins Bonus feature. You can choose to buy the Free Spins Bonus as follows:
- 5 Wild Bombs for 27x your bet
- 7 Wild Bombs for 50x your bet
- 10 Wild Bombs for 95x your bet
We purchased the free spins several times, each time opting to start with 10 wild bombs. We have varying levels of success. The times we won, we won 6x and 56x our bet. Our losses were also as swingy, with losses ranging from 2x to 20x our bet.
If you plan to use this option, your best chance is to buy the 10 Wild Bombs option. Try this option at lower stakes to see how you like it and move up as you can tolerate it.
Take the Bank a Fun Pokie But Big Wins May Be Rare in Base Game
If the symbols paid out a bit better, this would be a fantastic pokie. As it stands, Take the Bank is a fun game, but hitting a big win naturally during the base game may be a bit tough. Honestly, if it did not have the Buy feature, we probably would not recommend this game. This is a game where players will opt to buy the Free Spins Bonus often, but be aware that you’re going to experience a lot of swings with your bankroll.
Take the Bank has an RTP of 96.08%, which is better than average. We suspect that it would be closer to 95% if it were not for the Buy feature. Take the Bank is available at House of Pokies, PlayAmo, Bonza Spins, and any online casino offering pokies from Betsoft.