Football: Champions Cup

It's time to lace up your football boots, correct your shin pads and prepare for a really great match! Football is the sport that is always up to date, and with this slot, NetEnt is helping to load up for the European football championship 2016, which will take place in France this summer. Until then – and probably long after-this is the game for those who love ”chess of the green grass”.

An obvious choice for the football fan

Most of us, to some extent, choose new slot machines according to their theme. We at casinolist.co.nz have certainly been around long enough to know that the theme is not everything – behind the stupidest facade can hide a seven-health game with tight winning chances and exciting features. But in the end, it's always more fun to play a game with a theme that appeals to you. Football is the world's most popular sport, and with the European Championship approaching, it feels just right to bet on a slot machine with just this theme. Extra nice is that it is not just a graphic surface – the game also offers two prominent features with a clear connection to the sport, in the form of the bonus game and free spins – but more about these below.

Bonus games with exciting penalty shootouts

We all know the feeling of horror – mixed delight-penalty shootout. All but our younger readers will surely remember New Zealand's thrilling match against Romania in the World Cup -94, where Ravelli, after many over and over, carried the team to the semifinals. That time we dug for gold, but had to settle for bronze (which is certainly a great result) – and in Football: Champions Cup there is again reason to hope for a rain of gold!

The bonus game is activated when you get 3 or more bonus symbols anywhere on the reels. The bonus game itself is actually a so-called”Pick and Click " function, where you alternate between putting penalty kicks and trying to save them. If you take your team to victory, of course, a plentiful reward awaits!

Free Spin Tournament

That feature of the game that is clearly linked to the world of football is the freespin feature. This is activated when you get 3 or more gold trophies on the reels. You will then be moved to a separate game screen, designed as the playoff tournament in the European Championship. At most, you get four free spin rounds, and during each round your chosen team scores if you get a wild symbol with your team's colors. If you get wild symbols with the opposing team's colors instead, they score goals. The whole thing is random, of course, but still feels like a really exciting tournament where anything can happen. If you make it to any of the podiums, an extra win awaits you.

Overlay Wilds and regular wilds

Between 2 and 5 Overlay Wilds can appear and land on random positions during the base game itself. However, they cannot land on regular wild symbols, scatter symbols or bonus symbols.

There is also a regular wild symbol. Just like we are used to, this one acts as a ”joker” that can substitute for all other symbols, with the exception of scatters and bonus symbols. Wilds can also provide nice winnings on their own-up to 2000 times the bet!

Overall rating of Football: Champions Cup

There are already a couple of football-themed slot machines on the market (such as Shoot! from Microgaming), but it's nice that even NetEnt decided to put together a game with this theme. As usual, they have managed to put together a really nice gaming experience with many special features and fun gameplay. The only$ITIC we have to come up with is that maybe the whole thing could have been a little nicer. Otherwise, this is a great choice – especially if you like the world's most popular sport and can not save yourself before the European Championship!