Lace up your boots because it’s time to head onto the football pitch in the Football Mania Deluxe slot from Wazdan. As a lifelong football fan and slot player, I have found that the two rarely make good bedfellows, with the sport not lending itself to slots in the way that things like fishing have done over the years. Is Football Mania Deluxe the game to buck that trend? Let’s kick off and find out in this Football Mania Deluxe slot review. 

Wazdan has opted for a really arcade-like design with Football Mania Deluxe. The slot game takes players back to the days of old-fashioned, unlicensed football games. The slot uses a 3x3 grid, with the symbols all being represented in a bigger, block-like fashion compared to standard online slots. This further adds to the arcade-like feel of the slot. 

The symbols are made up of football-related imagery, with some featuring the players themselves and others just featuring a ball, trophy, whistle, or other pieces of equipment related to the sport. Overall, I found the design to be quite fun, with some energetic sound effects and animations helping to further bring it to life. 

As I’ve already mentioned in this Football Mania Deluxe review, the game uses a 3x3 game grid. This provides it with quite a unique feel, as it is smaller than other slot games, but it visually balances this out by using larger symbols. 

The slot has no traditional paylines, with wins being secured by landing three or more matching symbols on all three reels. You can check the value of each symbol by hitting the trophy icon in the corner of the game grid. 

The stake is adjusted beneath the reels by using the +/- buttons at the end of the scrolling scale, you will also find the autoplay and information buttons there. 

There are a number of handy features in the Football Mania Deluxe slot. The first I encountered was the Lock mechanic. This allows you to lock symbols on the reels for an additional spin. This is particularly useful for the next spin and gives you a better chance of landing a win. In many instances, the game will automatically lock symbols for you. If you want to change them, all you have to do is click the symbol. 

Whenever a football symbol lands on the reels, it is added to a position that matches a goal-shaped matrix on the right-hand side of the reels. When you fill this with nine balls, you will trigger the Football Spins bonus with nine spins. Additional Football symbols during the round are collected on top of the current ones, and if you have four or more, the corresponding prize is paid out from the win table. 

The other key symbol is the Football Lottery symbol. If you land three of these on the middle reels, you will trigger the Lottery Bonus. This is a pick-me-style bonus where players pick tickets to win prizes. 

Finally, after every win in the game, you get the chance to gamble. The gamble bonus is a penalty shoot-out, with players choosing the direction they want to shoot in and hoping the keeper goes the opposite way. Wins are doubled if you score, but your winnings are lost if you miss. 

As I mentioned in the introduction, football-themed real money slots are rarely satisfying. However, I was initially enthusiastic when I saw the fun design of Football Mania Deluxe. It really captures the feel of classic arcade football games, and Wazdan deserves plenty of credit for this approach. 

I started playing the game for a low stake, spinning the reels at $0.50 per go. I immediately found the Lock mechanic to be quite useful, and it helped me secure a few wins. I also found the ability to adjust the volatility useful, opting for a lower volatility to begin with before testing it in the highly volatile mode. 

I found the base game to be quite rewarding, but triggering the bonus features felt like a laborious process. The Football Bonus idea is a nice touch, but it takes a very long time to trigger the round, and the lack of a Buy Bonus option makes it even more difficult. 

Overall, I found the game to be quite lackluster when it came to results. I was able to secure a few small wins, but after a good 80-100 spins, the game was not turning out anything particularly interesting, and the lack of bonus information really did not help. 

I found the math model of Football Mania Deluxe to be quite uninspiring. The option to switch between low, medium, and high volatility has some merits, but the maximum win of only 1,000x your stake is not going to get too many players excited. The RTP is one of the better elements, coming in at 96.59%. 

Unfortunately, Football Mania Deluxe is not the game that will reshape the football slot genre. The game, while having a fun design, fails to impress once the reels start rolling. The Lock feature has its upsides, but a lack of big winning potential and limited bonuses leaves the game feeling disappointing. 

If you want to try out more Wazdan games, I would recommend some of their more retro-themed slots, like 12 Coins Grand Gold Edition. 

As for football-themed action, my favorite football slot is D10S Maradona by Blueprint Gaming. It comes with a selection of great bonuses that pay homage to the legendary Agrentinian’s career.