Jesters or Jokers have been around for thousands of years, providing entertainment for rulers and their courtiers. The characters we are most familiar with now date back to the Middle Ages, and the first use of the word Jester seems to go back to the 16th century referring to court entertainments. Jesters also travelled the country to entertain, and now you can enjoy some Jester-themed fun without leaving your home, provided by some of the most popular slots around. Click here to read more.
How Jesters Appear in Slots
Most slots with the Jester as the theme will involve the Middle Ages entertainer, and titles often involve the use of the word Joker, which is synonymous with the character of the court Jester. In line with the idea of fun gaming, the character will often appear with a fool’s hat and brightly coloured clothing. In reality the travelling Jester did not have the same resources as the court Jester and relied on a monk’s cowl or a hat with crude ass’s ears. Needless to say, most designers have opted for a colourful costume for their Jesters.
The traditional Jester is depicted as a fool, but in recent times the fool has turned a little more sinister, probably as a result of the Joker character first made famous in DC Comics Batman series and later in the movies which followed. Fortunately, slot designers have opted for the fun look of the Jester in most games, so you can expect to see colourful jolly characters rather than a terrifying depiction.
Naturally, the Jesters also often appear as special symbols triggering features or are the highest-value symbol. There is also a Joker which most players will be familiar with, and that is the playing card which bookends every new pack of cards. Although 25 card Euchre uses the card as a trump, most games omit the card altogether, as do most slots when they use cards as paying symbols. There is, however, one aspect of many slots which involve the Joker in a gamble feature.
Lots of gamble features use cards in a 50-50 gamble game where players can double winnings - it involves guessing the colour or suit of a card. Recently designers have begun to incorporate the Joker into these games using it as a wild which substitutes for either colour or any suit. Again, as in the base games, the symbol is one you will be looking out for during the game.
Popular Jester Slots
Here at Slots Temple, amongst the thousands of slots we offer to players, there are a number of popular Jester-themed games, so here we will take a quick look at them and give you an idea of how they operate and the role the Jester plays.
Book of Golden Joker
Book of Golden Joker is an online slot developed by game designer Retro Gaming. It was published in June 2022 and has some notable features for players to enjoy. Played on a five-reel set the game features scatter symbols, bonus games and a multiplier. There are also expanding symbol and additional bonus spins. The Joker does not really play a vital role in this slot despite appearing in the title, but it is the highest-paying symbol, which does make it the symbol to land, especially if it is chosen as the symbol that will expand to fill a reel. Players can win up to x1000 the wager, and so again the Joker is the symbol you will want to land to maximise your takings.
Rather than over-emphasise the role of the eponymous Joker, the designer has opted to give the slot a casino look with playing cards, chips and dice appearing on the reels as the other paying symbols, reflecting the world of online gaming. In truth, the design is a little disappointing and the maximum prize a little underwhelming.
Joker X UP
Next up is Microgaming’s Joker X Up from their Alchemy Gaming studio, a new addition which has just a handful of slots to its name but is fast becoming a design favourite. Another five-reel slot, this time with 243 pay lines, it has a maximum win of x10000. The game symbols are retro options, including playing cards, 7s, diamonds and bells, but all come with a great design and give the game a very modern look. In this slot the good news is that the Joker does play a big role, being not only the wild symbol, substituting for all the standard paying symbols, but also the top-value symbol. It can also expand to fill the entire reel, enhancing winning chances.
There are also scatter symbols which act in two ways: enhancing a win multiplier when two land on the screen and eventually triggering bonus games when the maximum multiplier is attained. The more natural way to trigger bonus spins is to land three scatters anywhere on the reels. The games begin with a set of eight spins, but more can be added during this phase. Multipliers can also be gathered in the bonus games.
Triple Jokers
Now we move on to take a look at Pragmatic Play’s Triple Jokers, which is a high-variance slot played on a classic 3x3 reel set with just five bet ways offering a maximum win of x1000. The jolly Joker in this slot looks like a friendly fellow in his blue and red outfit, and he certainly plays a very active part in the game. Not only is he the top-value symbol, but when the symbol appears stacked on any reel it transforms into a wild and substitutes for all the other paying symbols. Not only that, players now trigger the Re-spin Until You Win feature.
The triggering stack locks in place, as do any other stacks which appear on a re-spin, and remaining reels spin until a win lands.
We hope you enjoy the Jester-themed slots which we have made available to you here at Slots Temple.