Sports “Stars” on Microgaming’s Mobile Pokies

The online gaming industry’s transition to mobile has taken Australia, and the rest of the modern world, by storm. Down Under, we love our pokies as much as we love our sports. Thanks to Microgaming, we can merge all of our passions into one with a range of mobile sports pokies.

Microgaming is the oldest and arguably most respected developer of interactive gambling software in the business. The company founded its online gaming software in 1994, and pioneered the mobile gambling industry in 2003, long before smartphones and tablets went mainstream.

To date, Microgaming has developed dozens of graphically rich mobile pokies to complement its portfolio of over 600 desktop titles. Five of them carry a sports theme, perfect for Aussies who fancy an athletically inclined spin on the reels from the convenience of just about anywhere.

Microgaming Mobile Sports Pokies

Microgaming’s five mobile sports titles are Break Away, Basketball Star, Cricket Star, Football Star and Rugby Star. Before we get into the intricacies of those games, we’ll go over the cookie-cutter style of their gameplay first.

Yes, Microgaming is known for pasting new graphics over the same old games, and that’s exactly what they’ve done with each of these titles. In their defense, it’s a great base model, so fans of particular sports will at least get to enjoy it once.

Microgaming’s mobile sports pokies are all 5×3 reels with 243 Ways to Win, and they all depict animations from their respective sport upon achieving a winning combination. The games logo always represents the wild, and can appear stacked on reels 3, 4 and 5.

Whatever ball (or puck) the sport utilizes will represent the Scatter symbol. Landing 3, 4 or 5 Scatters awards 15, 20 or 25 free spins respectively.

All games are infused with a Rolling Reels feature, wherein the symbols involved in a winning combination can automatically re-spin to possibly add more wins to the current ones. When Rolling Reels activate in free spins, they earn progressive multipliers with each winning re-spin, up to 10x the original triggering bet for 6+ consecutive wins.

Another static feature that occurs in all games—but under different names—can turn any of the center reels into a stacked wild.

Break Away: This was the first of Microgaming’s mobile sports pokies, released in 2012. Its ice hockey theme isn’t all that popular here in Australia, but it’s gained stardom in other regions like Canada, despite having what many have cited to be rather bland aesthetics.

Basketball Star: The newest addition to the mobile sports pokies line-up, Basketball Star offers the most appealing graphics, but again, is not a huge winner in the eyes of Australians. It’s received a lot of promotional attention from Microgaming casinos though, and for fans of the sport, it’s a real ‘slam dunk’.

Cricket Star: Now this is one title I can really get into. Like most Aussies, I’m a huge cricket fan, and this February 2015 release caught my attention right away. Like all of the brand’s “Stars” themes, each and every symbol relates to the game and its competitive cricketers, not the generic playing-card symbols Microgaming has become so notorious for.

Football Star: Microgaming released this title just in time for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, and it was an enormous success. Infused with cinematic 3D graphics and genuine sound effects, any football fan should enjoy a few spins on these reels.

Rugby Star: I’ve followed Australia rules since I was a kiddiwink, and this is the best representation I’ve ever come across in poker machines. Launched earlier this year, I’ve found myself playing Rugby Star more than any of the other mobile sports pokies.