Friends Introduction

Do you recall the days when WMS was a well-regarded studio behind some of the finest slots around? Think Montezuma and Raging Rhino. That era feels far away. Today, this once American pinball manufacturer is owned by SG Gaming, and the quality has been slipping ever since. It’s difficult to pinpoint the last time they released a truly solid slot, so when we heard WMS was putting out a branded title, we didn’t review it because we expected it to be great—we already suspected it wouldn’t be—but because the brand alone could draw attention. That’s essentially how we choose what to cover, since reviewing every slot out there isn’t realistic.

The first thing you’ll notice when you launch it is the slightly odd layout. The reels sit in the center, looking unnecessarily small, with a lot of unused space on both sides. Part of the reason is that it’s based on the physical cabinet version that’s been available for a few years. The cast photo above the reels acts like a “tv-screen,” showing clips from the series and also hosting an interactive bonus wheel.

Even if that sounds exciting to some, the core setup is standard. It’s a 5-reel, 4-row game with 40 fixed paylines. Bets range from €0.50 and €100, which unfortunately rules it out for plenty of low-rollers—though they’re not missing much. There are lots of features, and we’ll cover them one by one, but it really feels like the developers tried to cram in too much, even if the emphasis is more on entertainment than actual potential.

As expected, the iconic theme “I’ll Be There For You” by Rembrandts plays continuously in the background. It’s an instrumental version, so you can sing along while your balance drops. We found it tiring after a few minutes and ended up lowering the volume. Maybe that’s just age catching up with us.

On the visual side, it’s pretty average. You get the New York skyline as the background, and the gameplay feels a bit jerky because there’s a short pause between spins. It’s especially irritating because the same delay happens on every small win, and you can’t skip through them.

Friends Symbols & Paytable

The reel symbols feature a Central Perk coffee cup, Phoebe’s acoustic guitar, the Central Perk coffee house logo, Joey’s ducks, the turkey Monica once wore on her head, Monica & Chandler talking on the phone, Ross & Rachel making out, the three guys (Joey, Chandler and Ross), all three ladies (Monica, Phoebe and Rachel) and all six cast members. The last one pays best, awarding you 0.80 times the stake for 5 on a payline.

A wild symbol is also present, shown as all the Friends, and it substitutes for every symbol except the Bonus Wheel symbols and the Jackpot Wild. Landing 5 wilds on a payline pays 10 times your stake. If you hit a full stack of Jackpot Wild symbols on reels 2, 3 and 4, you’ll activate the 2000x Jackpot.

There’s also a Mystery Stacks feature available in both the base game and the free spin features. Essentially, it works as a substitute stack to boost win chances. That said, because the base game potential is painfully low, you’ll hardly notice it making much impact.

Friends Slot Features

If you choose to play this terrible slot, you should know that triggering the Bonus Wheel is basically required if you want to get anything worthwhile from it. However, landing the fully stacked Bonus Wheel symbols on the three middle reels to activate the wheel is difficult, and it often took us an absurd number of spins. And even then, a bonus isn’t assured since half the wheel is filled with pointless cash prizes. If you do land one, though, here’s what you might get:

• Thanksgiving Bonus – 10 free spins with a x3 multiplier.
• Wedding Bonus  –  10 free spins with sticky wilds.
• Party Bonus – 11 free spins with walking wilds that expand to cover one or two reels.
• Bamboozled Bonus – Picking bonus with potential to trigger a 2000x jackpot.

Friends Conclusion

The series was fantastic, but the slot definitely isn’t. Some review sites will probably tell Friends fans to “give it a try,” but our answer is absolutely not. If you love the show, keep your cash and buy a Rachel poster or a Friends coffee cup instead. Don’t even consider spinning it unless you’re mainly here to sing along to the instrumental—which you can do in demo mode.

The game feels jerky, drags along, and the payouts are weak, to put it mildly. There’s not a single compelling reason to play this mess, whether online or in a live casino setting. So yes, you could say we’re no friends of Friends.