FloridaMan

FloridaMan: Slot Overview

'Florida Man' is a meme which first bubbled up around 2013, built on collections of unusual news stories from the US state of Florida which started with or included the words 'Florida man…' such as, 'Florida Man Accused of Attacking Girlfriend With Banana (NBC 6 South Florida). The way the meme evolved, it was as if a single person, the elusive Florida Man, perpetrated all of these headlines. It's into this murky world of memes that developer AvatarUX and partner game creator Mr Wu have stepped in to design FloridaMan, a pop-culture style slot, following a technical path laid down by slots such as DonKey & the Goats, and Nugget.

Palms, an alligator, flamingos, a pastel sky, high-rise buildings, yeah, we are in Florida for this one, alright. From the stylized presentation of the graphical objects to the relentless downbeat soundtrack, FloridaMan oozes cool. It doesn't have the overload factor of GOATS but is more experimental than Nuggets, and right away, it feels like no other slot out there. If AvatarUX were looking for an outlet to take a break from churning out PopWins slots, then working with Mr Wu has certainly provided one, and the team up appears to be paying dividends.

So far, one thing that these Mr Wu-involved games have in common is a lower regular reel set and an upper Zap Reel. The main grid makes use of 6 reels, and 3 rows by default, providing 2,304 ways to win when including the available Zap Reel positions into the equation. It might seem downbeat, low key to begin with, but FloridaMan is a medium volatile slot, with a default 96% RTP value, and where the bet selection is 20 c $/€100. Note that any current rewards on the screen, such as saved FloridaMan Wilds, are saved at stake levels. Activating the Ante Bet from the Xpress screen doubles the chance of entering free spins for an extra 25% tacked onto the stake.

FloridaMan's cascade system removes winning symbols from the reels, dropping in new symbols to replace them. If a new win appears on the reels following the symbol cascade, the process triggers again. FloridaMan's pay symbols are divided into low, medium, and highs. The lows are 10 to King card ranks, paying 2x the bet for 6 OAK, while the mediums are a sea creature, a flamingo, and a wild cat, worth 3x the bet for 6 OAK. That leaves 3 city scenes as the 3 high pay symbols, awarding 4 times the bet for a 6-of-a-kind winning way. Florida man appears on the wild symbol, and is he a cheeky nod to a certain ex-president? Not sure, but wilds substitute for all symbols on the reels except scatters.

FloridaMan: Slot Features

Zap Reels are a hallmark of a Mr Wu/AvatarUX game, and FloridaMan has one of those. It also has cascades, multipliers, Mystery Splits, FloridaMan Attack, Jailed Wilds, free spins, Swamp Fever!, and feature buys.

Base Game Features

• Zap Reel - The Zap Reel is the reel that runs on top of the main grid. It can display regular symbols which are able to connect to form wins with the symbols on the regular reels. In addition, the middle 2 positions on the Zap Reel do not hold symbols but are what is called the Wild Jail, where unused wilds are collected. As well as regular symbols, multiplier symbols may appear on the Zap Reel, applying a multiplier to triggered wins. Multipliers are additive when 2 or more appear on the same winning line.
• Mystery Splits - At random at any time in the base or bonus game, Mystery Splits may land. Mystery Splits expand the reel by 2 or 3 symbol positions, then reveal the same random symbol in those spots. The expanded reels reset between spins.
• FloridaMan Attack - This feature can be activated at any time. At the end of the spin, a random amount of high-pay symbols transform into FloridaMan Wilds for the following spin. If this occurs in the base game, players get a respin. If a FloridaMan Wild does not form a win, it is collected from the reels by the Wild Jail.
• Jailed Wilds - All unused FloridaMan Wilds are collected by the Wild Jail. In the base game, at random, on any following paid spin, the collected wilds may be released onto the reels.

Free Spins

The free spins round is triggered by landing at least 3 scatter symbols. Before entering free spins, players may pick the Collect Wheel or the Gamble Wheel. The Collect Wheel awards a random number of free spins and starting ways. The Gamble Wheel offers the chance to upgrade free spins to higher tiers with a bigger number of free spins and higher starting ways. However, it also has the chance to lose the free spins. There is a 50/50 chance of winning or losing.

During the free spins round, all collected wilds are released once from the Wild Jail on the final spin. Moreover, randomly during free spins, a Swamp Fever mode can trigger to grant +2 extra free spins as well as increases the chance of triggering the FloridaMan Attack during each following spin.

Xpress

At the Xpress, players can buy these bonuses:

• Bonus - 50x the bet for up to 8 free spins, up to 6,400 ways or gamble for more.
• Bonus Plus - 100x the bet for up to 10 free spins, up to 10,000 ways or gamble for more.
• Bonus Premium - 150x the bet for up to 12 free spins, up to 20,736 ways or gamble for more.
• Bonus Ultra - 200x the bet for up to 14 free spins, up to 32,400 ways or gamble for more.
• Bonus Max - 500x the bet for 16 free spins, 46,656 ways.

FloridaMan: Slot Verdict

News headlines linked to Florida Man allegedly include such eye grabbers as 'Florida man steals chain saw by sticking it in his pants' (Tampa Bay Times), 'Florida man charged with DUI after driving scooter into Walmart shelves' (New York Post), and 'Florida Man Attempting to Time Travel Crashes Into Strip Mall' (Miami New Times), clearly Florida Man has been busy. It might be argued that these AvatarUX/Mr Wu meetups could be shaping up, in some ways, as a Nolimit City competitor. Kind of a hint, let's say. FloridaMan and DonKey & the GOATS have a similarly irreverent feel, a little out there, a little offbeat. This one more so than the other, perhaps showcasing the two studios' growing confidence and willingness to take a risk. FloridaMan is no Rock Bottom or Walk of Shame, but it is still early days, and a studio combo looking to take on NLC at their own game could be an interesting setup.

Not saying FloridaMan reaches shock levels, yet it's smartly done, and any studio willing to avoid the usual cliches by using an original topic to theme a slot is always a welcome move. The features on offer in FloridaMan aren't as wild as the subject matter, but they have their moments. The Zap Reel keeps it easy by delivering only multiplier symbols in addition to regular pay symbols, though the Wild Jail might feel like a bit of a hindrance when it's empty. The FloridaMan Attack can help fill the Jail, as can any wilds that go unused, and when FloridaMan Wilds are ejected back onto the reels, they might be good for creating pulse-racing results. Swamp Fever links in there, too, and the final free spin of a bonus round when the Wild Jail is emptied could be exciting.

The more ways and rows are active when the final spin is in motion, the better, and FloridaMan is governed by a sizable 20,000x the bet win cap. Whilst there are links to previous Mr Wu collabs, FloridaMan is very different from what AvatarUX usually releases, as PopWins slots are the bulk of its output. As such, we could be poised at the start of a very interesting journey should the studio continue to expand down this sort of road.