Skywind Group · Manila, Philippines · 500x top multiplier
Format
Wheel show
RTP
n/a
Top multiplier
500x
Wheel segments
n/a
Betting window
n/a
Table min
0.1
Table max
2000
Loading live stats
Joker's Wheel is a live casino game show from Skywind Group, released in 2022, which takes the familiar big-money-wheel format and absolutely stuffs it with features.
At the centre of the studio is a 54-stop Big Wheel containing eight betting categories. Four are straightforward cash positions, 1x, 2x, 5x and 10x, while the remaining four trigger Joker's Luck, Joker's Deluxe, Joker's Dice and Joker's Wheel.
If that already sounds busy, Skywind isn't finished.
Before the main wheel determines the result, the Wheel Multiplier can enhance one of the betting positions with an additional multiplier. There's even a Joker capable of applying the multiplier across all of the available positions.
The four bonus games are where Joker's Wheel really earns its game show credentials. Rather than creating four slightly different versions of the same wheel, Skywind has built a single reel progression game, a larger three reel version, a physical dice game and a rather impressive three wheel gyroscopic bonus.
It's difficult to avoid the obvious comparison with Evolution's Crazy Time. Both games are built around a large physical wheel containing four cash positions and four bonus games.
Joker's Wheel certainly hasn't wandered into completely unexplored territory.
It has, however, brought enough luggage to stay for a while.
The Big Wheel contains 54 stops divided between eight different prize categories. You can bet on 1x, 2x, 5x, 10x, Joker's Luck, Joker's Deluxe, Joker's Dice and Joker's Wheel.
You can cover a single position or spread your stake across several before betting closes and the presenter spins the wheel.
If the pointer stops on one of the four standard numbers you've backed, the corresponding cash payout is awarded. Land one of the four bonus positions you've selected and the main wheel hands proceedings over to that particular bonus game.
It's extremely easy to understand, particularly if you've played any of the modern money wheel game shows before. The basic decision is simply how much of the wheel you want to cover and whether you'd rather chase regular results, bonus games or some combination of the two.
The real complexity comes after the wheel has done its job.
Before each main wheel result, the Wheel Multiplier provides the possibility of enhancing a winning position.
It consists of two reels. The first contains the eight betting positions from the Big Wheel, additional numbered positions and a Joker, while the second contains possible multiplier values. If a betting position lines up with a multiplier, that particular result is enhanced should it subsequently win.
The Joker is considerably more interesting because when it aligns with a multiplier, that enhancement applies across the betting positions rather than being limited to one specific result.
I really like this mechanic because it gives every wheel spin a preliminary event without requiring another lengthy feature. You know before the wheel stops that one of the outcomes could suddenly be considerably more valuable.
It also creates the inevitable situation where a huge multiplier lands on Joker's Dice immediately before the wheel misses Joker's Dice by approximately three millimetres.
Game show wheels have impeccable comic timing.
Before each main wheel result, the Wheel Multiplier provides the possibility of enhancing a winning position.
It consists of two reels. The first contains the eight betting positions from the Big Wheel, additional numbered positions and a Joker, while the second contains possible multiplier values. If a betting position lines up with a multiplier, that particular result is enhanced should it subsequently win.
The Joker is considerably more interesting because when it aligns with a multiplier, that enhancement applies across the betting positions rather than being limited to one specific result.
I really like this mechanic because it gives every wheel spin a preliminary event without requiring another lengthy feature.
Joker's Luck takes the action away from the Big Wheel and into a simple 1x1 slot style bonus.
Before it begins, you choose one of three symbols, Star, Bell or Horseshoe, and its corresponding prize tower. The reel then starts spinning.
Landing Star, Bell or Horseshoe moves the corresponding prize tower upwards, while landing a Joker advances all three towers. The important thing is that you're only entitled to the eventual value attached to the tower you selected at the beginning.
Then there's the Devil. Once the Devil appears, the sequence comes to an end and the prize associated with your selected tower is awarded.
It's essentially a push your luck progression feature where every successful spin gives the towers another opportunity to climb before the Devil eventually arrives to spoil the party.
Pick your symbol and hope the Devil has gone for lunch.
Joker's Deluxe takes the basic idea behind Joker's Luck and gives it considerably more room to develop.
You again begin by selecting Star, Bell or Horseshoe and therefore choosing which prize tower you're playing for.
The big difference is the slot itself. Instead of the single position reel used in Joker's Luck, Deluxe uses a 1x3 reel setup, allowing several symbols to appear simultaneously and potentially move the prize towers further during each spin. Jokers again help advance the towers, while Devils bring the feature towards its conclusion.
It's obviously closely related to Joker's Luck rather than being a completely independent concept, but it feels sufficiently different in practice. The three position layout creates more combinations and gives the bonus more potential to build before it ends.
If Joker's Luck is the starter, Deluxe is Skywind asking whether you'd like that supersized.
Joker's Dice is where the feature package becomes much more interesting.
Before the bonus starts, you choose Red, Blue or Green, with your colour corresponding to one of the Joker Dice used during the game.
The presenter then uses a physical Dice Tower containing five dice, three Counting Dice and two Joker Dice. The three Counting Dice establish the base prize. The two Joker Dice then determine whether that prize receives an additional enhancement based on the colour you selected before the roll.
That combination works particularly well because it moves completely away from the slot style mechanics of Joker's Luck and Deluxe. You're suddenly watching real dice tumble through a physical machine rather than another digital sequence.
Does choosing red instead of blue demonstrate any particular insight into the future behaviour of a tumbling die? Absolutely not. Will you still blame yourself for choosing the wrong one? Absolutely.
Joker's Wheel is the headline bonus and easily the most visually distinctive part of the game.
Rather than simply spinning another conventional money wheel, Skywind uses three gyroscopic wheels, Outer, Middle and Inner, each containing 32 stops.
Before the feature starts, you again choose Red, Blue or Green. Each colour corresponds to its own set of pointers covering positions across all three wheels. Once the wheels stop, the prizes indicated by your chosen pointers are combined.
The Outer Wheel also contains Joker positions. Landing one of these can multiply the accumulated prizes and trigger another spin, allowing the feature to continue and potentially build further.
This is exactly what I want from the headline bonus in a game like this. It looks different from the main wheel, behaves differently and gives you a genuine choice before proceedings begin.
Skywind already had one enormous wheel in the studio and apparently decided the obvious solution was three more. I respect the commitment.
Joker's Wheel is very easy to start playing but has considerably more going on underneath than the Big Wheel initially suggests.
The main betting stage couldn't be much simpler. Choose between four regular cash positions and four bonuses, spread your bets however you want and watch the presenter spin the wheel. That's familiar territory.
What improves the gameplay is how different the experience becomes once you start hitting the bonuses. Joker's Luck and Deluxe introduce symbol choices and prize progression, Joker's Dice switches to physical dice and Joker's Wheel gives you another colour selection before three separate wheels determine the outcome.
There's therefore a reasonable amount of player involvement by game show standards. None of those choices turn Joker's Wheel into a game of skill, you're choosing between equally unknowable outcomes, but making a decision is still more engaging than watching every bonus resolve automatically.
The Wheel Multiplier also gives ordinary rounds another layer before the main spin.
My main criticism is that the game can become quite busy. Someone seeing it for the first time has eight betting positions, a multiplier mechanism and four different bonus rule sets to understand.
Thankfully, you don't need to understand everything before placing your first bet.
Score 8.6/10
This is easily Joker's Wheel's strongest category.
Four bonus games is already a substantial package, but the important thing is that Skywind hasn't simply counted four minor variations as four completely separate features.
Joker's Luck provides the basic tower progression mechanic. Joker's Deluxe expands it with a larger reel configuration. Joker's Dice moves into a physical dice game, while Joker's Wheel uses three gyroscopic wheels and its own Joker mechanic. Then you've got the Wheel Multiplier operating before the main result.
That's an enormous amount of feature content for a live wheel game.
Joker's Luck and Deluxe are admittedly close relatives, which prevents me giving this an even higher score. If all four bonuses were as mechanically different from one another as Dice and Wheel, we'd be approaching top marks.
Even so, there aren't many live games where landing the bonus genuinely leaves you wondering what type of game you're about to play.
Score 9.4/10
Joker's Wheel doesn't have Evolution's production budget written all over it, but Skywind has produced a surprisingly impressive live game show.
The enormous central wheel immediately provides a strong focal point, while the Joker theme gives the studio plenty of colour and personality without making the betting interface impossible to read.
More importantly, the presentation keeps changing. The main wheel sequence looks completely different from Joker's Dice, while the three gyroscopic wheels used during Joker's Wheel provide the sort of physical spectacle you'd expect from a much larger live casino studio.
The Wheel Multiplier also adds another visual event before the main spin, while Joker's Luck and Deluxe use their expanding prize towers to make progression easy to follow.
The presenter has plenty to work with too. Individual hosts naturally rotate, so we're judging the format rather than particular presenters, but four bonus games and the multiplier system provide considerably more material for a host than simply spinning the same wheel repeatedly.
There are moments when the screen becomes a little busy.
Then again, the game is hosted by a Joker. Minimalism was probably never discussed at the design meeting.
Score 9.1/10
Here's where we have to be slightly tougher on Joker's Wheel.
Taken individually, there are some genuinely interesting ideas here. The physical Dice Tower is excellent, the three gyroscopic wheels are unusual and the Wheel Multiplier provides another clever layer before the main spin.
But the overall structure is extremely familiar. A large 54 stop wheel containing 1x, 2x, 5x and 10x positions alongside four bonus games is inevitably going to invite comparisons with Evolution's Crazy Time. There's simply no getting around that.
Thankfully, Skywind hasn't copied the individual bonus games. Joker's Dice and the triple wheel Joker's Wheel feature in particular give the title its own personality once you actually reach them.
That's why I wouldn't dismiss it as a straightforward imitation. The framework is familiar, but Skywind has done some interesting things inside it.
Think of it as borrowing somebody else's circus tent and then hiring completely different performers.
Score 7.9/10
Overall Rating
8.8/10
Joker's Wheel is one of Skywind Group's most ambitious live casino games and easily one of the more feature packed money wheels outside the biggest Evolution and Playtech releases.
The basic game uses a 54 stop Big Wheel divided between 1x, 2x, 5x and 10x cash positions and four bonuses: Joker's Luck, Joker's Deluxe, Joker's Dice and Joker's Wheel. Skywind's official game information confirms all eight categories and the four separate bonus formats.
The Wheel Multiplier adds another layer before the main result, potentially attaching an enhanced multiplier to one of the available outcomes. Hit the Joker during this process and the multiplier can apply much more broadly.
The bonus games are where I'd particularly praise it.
Joker's Luck is a simple symbol and prize tower game, while Joker's Deluxe develops the same idea through a larger three position reel. Joker's Dice then changes direction completely, using three Counting Dice and two Joker Dice in a physical Dice Tower, with players choosing Red, Blue or Green before the roll.
Finally, Joker's Wheel uses three gyroscopic 32 stop wheels, again allowing players to choose a colour before the result. The Outer Wheel contains Jokers capable of enhancing the prize and continuing the feature.
That's a genuinely strong collection of bonuses.
The obvious criticism is originality. It's impossible to look at a 54 stop wheel containing 1x, 2x, 5x and 10x alongside four bonus positions without thinking of Crazy Time. Skywind hasn't invented a new game show framework here.
What it has done is fill that framework with enough of its own ideas to make the game worth judging separately.
RTP also needs a little care. Skywind's current public game page doesn't provide a visible single RTP figure, while external sources disagree. Betfair presently displays a range of 93.95% to 96.49%, while another detailed breakdown reports individual positions ranging from 93.95% to 96.34%. We therefore list this as variable RTP by bet rather than publishing the older 95.26% figure as though it applies universally.
The reported individual returns also suggest the betting positions aren't mathematically equal, which is worth making clear rather than hiding everything behind an average.
Overall, Joker's Wheel doesn't win many points for inventing the big wheel formula, but it scores heavily for what happens when that wheel finally lands on a bonus.
Skywind may have arrived late to the big wheel party, but at least the Joker remembered to bring four bonus games, five dice and another three wheels with him.
Overall Rating: 8.8/10.
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