Phileas Hog

Everyone loves a bit of pork. No, not like that you dirty minded so-and-so's! We're talking about the meat that shares the most DNA with the human genotype after the chimpanzee, and so we always have to wonder if that's what makes pork taste so good? We've never been able to get a true answer to this question as we're yet to find a supermarket that stocks monkey meat. Pork in fact has undergone such a renaissance after being a forgotten meat that many supermarkets have been putting pork prices up and we've been seeing a massive move from restaurants to add the tasty flesh to their menus. Now, in appreciation of the animal that gives us the fatty tissue on which we love to feast, you can combine your love of fruit machines with your love of pork with Microgaming's superb fruity, Phileas Hog.

As you've probably guessed from the title the game is based around Jules Verne's '80 days around the world', where the original Phileas has to prove to his fellow members of the Reform club that it's possible to traverse the world in a mere matter of 80 days. The interface of this machine is the lush, graphical, eye-feast that you'd expect from any fruit machine from the Microgaming pig-sty, and you'll be as happy as a pig in the proverbial when you hear the great audio accompaniment to the game. The main fruity reel game itself is based around a 5 pay-line, 3 reel format, so you've got more than enough ways to pay as each spin trots the reels round as you hope to stop in those wins.

Like all fruit machine bonus games you've got to decide when you bring home the bacon as that one extra spin might mean you're up for the chop. With Phileas Hogg that cleaver is put in your hand with every win however, as you have a chance to gamble for the next level. For instance, if you win a 2x multiplier with cherries then you've got a chance to gamble it up for a 4x lemon win. If you lose on this game then there's a good chance when you drop down to the level below your gamble level that you can exchange for the Phileas Hog trail game.

The trail game is a standard fruit machine staple where a fourth reel rolls out the number of spaces you move on the 20 position bonus reel, which has all the adds and features (such as streaky bacon and globetrotter) that any experienced fruit machine player could want. The maximum prize here is possible to attain from the machine and is a whopping 2000x the original bet, that's enough for any porker to pig out on!

Whilst this fruit machine can fall into a category which is regarded as a little simple by many experienced fruity players, the truth of the matter is that Phileas Hog is a machine that keeps the wins coming thick and fast. There are more than enough ways to win on this machine and this sets it out as the best bred piggy in the show when you compare it to its gaming peers. Phileas Hog could even be regarded as the best of all out of this brand of Microgaming fruities and if that's not a good enough reason for you to give it a go, then you really are a swine.