Manufacturer: International Game Technology
Platform: S AVP
Format: Three-reel, five-line multi-layer display video slot
Denomination: .01
Max Bet: 50
Top Award: 100,000 credits
Hit Frequency: Approximately 40%
Theoretical Hold: Varies according to skill

This is the first game in IGT’s new “Reel Edge” series, which is comprised of games that feature 100 percent skill-based bonus features.

The vampire-themed “Blood Life” incorporates a base-game feature first seen in North Carolina—the “skill-stop.” The player touches a button to stop the first reel. As the other two reels spin, the symbol that would yield the highest payoff flashes as it passes, giving the player a chance to time its stop to achieve the best combination.

There is also a normal free-spin bonus triggered by three “Free Spins” symbols on an active payline, but the main top-box bonus employs a joy stick mounted on the button panel for a home-video-game-style event, in which hand/eye coordination determines how well the player does.

The top box displays a maze, with dots, skull symbols and chambers hiding bonus amounts. The player tries to reach the “Dungeon,” and a pile of gold nuggets that awards the highest jackpot. Using the joy stick in several tries, the player tries to make it through the maze in a “Pac Man”- style race, avoiding a bat that’s chasing the icon around while maneuvering toward the skull symbols.

A second game in the Reel Edge series was introduced at G2E, with a pachinko-style bonus event. The series won the first-place GGB Gaming & Technology Award this year as Best Slot Product.

By Frank Legato

Frank Legato is editor of Casino Connection and also editor of Global Gaming Business magazine. He has been writing on gaming topics since 1984, when he launched and served as editor of Casino Gaming magazine. Legato, a nationally recognized expert on slot machines, has served as editor and reporter for a variety of gaming publications, including Public Gaming, IGWB, Casino Journal, Casino Player, Strictly Slots and Atlantic City Insider. He has an B.A. in journalism and an M.A. in communications from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA. He is the author of the recently published book on gaming, How To Win Millions Playing Slot Machines... Or Lose Trying.