When you start playing online slots, one thing quickly becomes clear – there are a lot of games to choose from! In fact, most casinos, whether on or offline, are made up predominantly of slot machines, and there are many reasons for this. One of the main ones is that software providers are free to use any theme they like to colour a game, and math models can be tweaked to entertain practically any gambler type.

You might think then that providers are tripping over themselves to create the latest new craze to attract players. Since graphics are always improving, then new games must always look more advanced with each release, right? In some ways, this is true, and the aesthetics of modern slots is truly incredible. However, classic slots remain hugely popular as well and are certainly not going away any time soon. Here we’ll look at the benefits of new and classic slots in an attempt to help players pick the games that suit them best.

Classic Slots

While there is no one size fits all definition for the term ‘classic slot’, but usually, you’ll know one when you see one. Symbols are one of the giveaways and classic slots use icons that have been around since slot machines first burst on the scene over a hundred years ago in San Francisco. Symbols you can expect to find here include cherries, bells, diamonds, ‘7s’, BARS, and so on. There is a good reason for this, too, as some of the early slot machines used to reward players with fruit flavoured gum rather than money. Most players will be happy to know this has changed, and classic slots now offer massive potential wins! Take a look at these examples to get a feel for a classic slot:

• Joker Stoker (Endorphina) – 5×4, 40 payline slot stacked with classic slot imagery.
• Fruits Collection (Spinomenal) – Spinomenal do a range of these, so if fruit is your thing, they are worth taking a look at.
• Hot Fruits 20 (Amatic) – for a taste of retro gaming, this online slot has you covered.
• 243 Crystal Fruits (Tom Horn) – wild symbols transform this game from a 5-win line to 243 ways experience.
• Fruit Million (Bgaming) – stacked symbols and expanding wilds go together to potentially blow doors off this fruit fiesta of a slot.

Another hallmark of classic slots is a tendency to be straightforward, no-nonsense games. Classic slots are often a bit simpler so players can enjoy them with ease and with a minimum of complication. However, this isn’t always the case, as some developers prefer to flex their creativity by dropping all sorts of innovation into the genre.

New Slots

Blazing away on the forefront of online gambling technology is a wave of new slots. These are games that operate under no restrictions. Makers are free to use whatever theme, graphics, sounds, or features they want. Often the only limit seems to be a studio’s imagination. As such, when you fire up new online slots, there is no telling where it will take you, and some players love the variety and suspense this sort of gaming can provide. Here are several fantastic newer slots to try:

• Sweet Bonanza (Pragmatic Play) – matching symbols pay from any position in this tooth-achingly good slot.
• Reactoonz 1 and 2 (Play’n GO) – crazily entertaining grid slot gaming from one of the pioneer studios in the field.
• Divine Fortune Megaways (NetEnt) – an older slot drastically expanded by the power of BTG’s dynamic game engine.
• Deadwood (Nolimit City) – there are tons of Western-themed slots out there, but for many, this is one of the best on the market.
• Multifly (Yggdrasil) – harness the power of lizards and multipliers in this hugely colourful online slot.

As you can see, there is a wide range of slot types here. Fruit and classic imagery still appear in new slots, but there is also so much more going on as well. If you’re the sort of player who craves novelty, then the new slots category is probably the most suitable place to hang out.

Best of both worlds

All told, there is no clear winner when it comes to playing classic or new slots. Both have merits, and each category has something different to offer. The real winner really is the players, who are free to dip and dive at will into an old school classic fruit slot, or the latest high-powered hair-raiser from a cutting-edge studio. If you still aren’t sure which one to go for, take a demo, try games for free, and once you’ve got a few on the to-do list, feel free to switch to real money online gambling. Just be sure to do so responsibly, and it’s possible to have a blast no matter what sort of online video slot you prefer.

The Orient Express was an early long-distance passenger train service that was created in 1883 by the International Sleeping-Car Company – better known by its French name of “The Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits”. The original endpoints of the service were Paris and Constantinople (known as Istanbul today).

Whilst the route and rolling stock used on the line changed many times during the services tenure, one important feature did not – the Orient Express name was synonymous with intrigue and luxury rail travel. At a time when travelling was renowned for being rough and dangerous, the Orient Express was seen as a futuristic showcase of what could be achieved – it was comfortable and luxurious but remained prohibitively expensive for much of the time it was in operation.

Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express

In 1934, English writer Agatha Christie wrote an extremely popular work of fiction that was set on the Orient Express. Titled “Murder on the Orient Express” in the United Kingdom, and “Murder in the Calais Coach” in the United States, sales figures for the book are difficult to find because it has been reprinted and republished so many times. 

Without doubt though, this book must surely be one of Agatha’s most popular titles – it is certainly amongst the most well-known, having seen three separate film adaptations in 1974, 2001 and 2017. There were significant differences between the original book and all three of these movies, however – unsurprising, given the intricate and extremely detailed plot of the source material.

Slot Machine Adaptation

A video slot was created to coincide with the 2017 film adaptation of Christie’s work by respected developer of Online Slot Machines, Yggdrasil. The game is a 20-line slot featuring a traditional 5×3 layout with a theoretical RTP of 96.1%, with bonus rounds centered around the most famous cities on the legendary train journeys route – Paris, Venice, Belgrade, and Istanbul. The slot was a big success at the time, though player numbers have fallen each year as the movie quietly progresses into obscurity.

The Biggest Differences Between the Book and Films

In the book, the famous detective Poirot is portrayed as being more pensive and thoughtful, spending much of his time speaking in a ‘soliloquy’ narrative style. The directors in Hollywood changed Poirot’s character extensively in all three film adaptations, though the 2017 adaptation in particular is notable for turning the detective into essentially an action star. Whilst this does add excitement and momentum to the film, it is a huge departure form the source material and prevents viewers from truly understanding the character of Poirot as Agatha had originally intended.

Cuts for Timing Purposes

Of course, much of the intricate detail of the plot had to be cut from the movie, including huge sections of dialogue which some viewers felt introduced many questions as to why certain characters acted in the ways that they did. Converting a 256 page novel into a film script is never going to be an easy task, and despite a run length of close to 2.5 hours, the 2017 film adaptation misses out on many critical plot elements that fans of the novel were disappointed to find missing from what was supposed to be the most accurate adaptation of Christie’s book to date.  

Confusing Timelines

Just as there has been three different film adaptations of Murder on the Orient Express, the novel itself has been adapted and re-adapted many times over the decades since its original release as well. Sometimes the changes were small, made simply to reflect cultural differences that have occurred during the years since. On other occasions, whole sections of the book were seemingly rewritten with the aim of finding a new target audience. 

The description of Poirot’s moustache is one example that changes significantly between different adaptations of both book and film, for instance.

Character Differences 

The character M Bouc in the novel is a Belgian, just like Poirot, and resultingly had little trouble convincing the detective to take on the case. The character is portrayed entirely differently in the movies – a British man with a love of several vices including drinking and gambling. Whilst the character portrayed onscreen is very believable, he differs substantially from the M Bouc of the novel. 

The twelve characters portrayed in the book are changed to reflect a much more diverse cast in the 2017 film adaptation – a common theme in Hollywood movies today. Poirot was also the one to find the body in the most recent movie adaptation, which was possibly done to speed up the plot substantially. 

In Closing

As a final note, the snowdrift/avalanche is one of the most iconic scenes in the movie, yet only received a brief mention after it happened in the book. This was no doubt done for dramatic effect – just another touch of Hollywood magic as they say. The question is, did Agatha’s book really need any such magic? The original book is just as good a read today as it was in 1934, and is a timeless piece of literature – will anybody say the same of the 2017 film adaptation a century from now?