Slingo Guide
WHAT IS SLINGO?
Slingo is a popular online casino game that combines elements of Slots and Bingo (hence the name Slingo). Casinos sometimes run promotions on Slingo games. But, how to utilise these games can be a bit unclear. This guide aims to give you a better understanding of how these games work, and how to best approach them.
There are lots of different formats of Slingo Game. We make our recommendations for which you should use to complete offers.
RETURN TO PLAYER
Most Slingo Games have an RTP of approximately 95%. This isn't always the case though and some Slingo games do provide a slightly better RTP.
The variance, speed of gameplay and stake sizes vary significantly. So some games are much better options than others.
STAKE SIZING
Like with any casino game, Slingo Games allow you to choose the stake size that you use.
This can be as little as 10p per game, to as much as £100 per game.
STANDARD FORMAT
Most Slingo Games look something like the following:
On the left hand side, you will see a place to adjust the game’s stake, and also a paytable - this shows the different potential prizes for that stake size.
On the right is a button to start the game. It will also display how many spins a game involves (in the case of the above image – the game involves 11 spins).
In the centre is a 5×5 grid of numbers, which acts a bit like a Bingo Card.
When the game begins, numbers are drawn, and our aim is to match up as many of these numbers to our grid as possible. The numbers drawn are displayed along the bottom of the page like so:
If the numbers drawn match up to the numbers in our grid, then they are crossed off.
WIN LINES
Our aim is to cross off as many numbers as possible to complete win lines. A win line is a set of 5 numbers in a row. These can be horizontal, vertical or diagonal lines.
On the standard 5×5 Slingo Grid, there are 12 Win Lines. The more lines we complete, the bigger the prize that we can win.
PROGRESS TOWARDS PRIZES
As we complete whole win lines, we will start to see our progress towards prizes:
ADDITIONAL SYMBOLS
Whilst playing some Slingo Games, you may see other symbols, which impact the gameplay.
BEST STRATEGY
The jokers and super jokers give us a choice of which numbers to select. Our choices will impact the RTP of Slingo Games. It is important to have some understanding of the best strategy.
The jokers and super jokers should always be used where they will move the player closest to completing a win line. Where many positions will achieve this, the preference should be to select the number that covers the most win lines.
Priorities
Centre Number – the number in the very centre of the grid should be prioritised. This covers four win lines: horizontal, vertical and two diagonals.
Diagonal Numbers – next the numbers on the diagonal lines should be prioritised. These cover three win lines: horizontal, vertical and one diagonal.
Other numbers – these only cover 2 win lines: horizontal and vertical so are the lowest priority.
PURCHASING ADDITIONAL BALLS
Warning!Once you have completed your set number of spins, and any free spins that you won, you may be presented with a choice. This choice is to either end the game immediately, and collect any prizes. Or whether you wish to continue, and buy extra balls for the opportunity to complete more win lines.
The price of the spin will depend on how many numbers you have left to complete, and how close you are to extra prizes. You may feel tempted to buy extra balls, but we would recommend avoiding this. We recommend ending each game immediately.
When purchasing extra spins, as you get close to prizes, the cost of an extra spin can get extremely expensive. Purchasing these can lead to you spending lots of money. You could end up with very large losses. Purchasing extra spins will also often reduce the RTP of your gameplay.
So stick to the lower variance games (discussed below) and resist any temptation to buy extra spins.
SLINGO GAMES COMPARED
In the following table, we compare the key characteristics of some of the different Slingo games. Other games are also available.
Slingo Extreme is a good option to choose for Slingo offers if it's available, due to the easy way the game plays and its lower variance. Slingo Starburst is also a great choice due to the high RTP.