Sometimes, getting an award can set the tone for a week.
Galaxy Gaming was awarded Product Innovation of the Year at the recent Global Gaming Awards for its Monopoly Building Riches table games progressive game.
“We started the week off with a great win, obviously, and we really just energized the entire team here at Galaxy and got everybody jazzed up, excited, and ready to put on a great show,” said Tyler Knight, director of product management for the company.
Knight said the power of the Monopoly brand is exceptional, and it allows Galaxy to innovate through its familiarity.
The Building Riches version of the game features an animated Monopoly board where players build houses and hotels. Based on the number of properties players build, they can vie for prizes connected to the games Spotlight Spin Feature.
“We’ve done something that hasn’t been done in the wheel space before,” Knight said. “Obviously, wheels are a tried-and-true gaming mechanic that you see across all verticals of gaming. But what we’ve done with Spotlight Spin is we’ve created a shared wheel spin experience, so multiple players can be eligible to have the spin at the same exact time. And what differentiates us from the competition is now there’s individualized outcomes during that shared experience.”
The Galaxy Spotlight Spin feature can be used in various table games, from blackjack to different poker variations. During the games, a triggering event – two pair, for example, in a Hold‘em-themed game – allows everyone who placed a bet to be eligible for a prize based on a spin of the wheel.
“The opportunity for every player to win a big prize at the same time is what sets us apart from other reels you see in the gaming space,” Knight said.
These types of games, Knight says, are part of a trend over the past five years, “community-style events,” in table games, including craps and roulette.
“There’s games that have existed that create that kind of atmosphere, and us and other vendors have brought that kind of experience to poker derivatives, blackjack, and the games that traditionally didn’t have that,” Knight says.
During the past five to 10 years, Knight has noticed more people who will cross-play – players who will switch between slots and table games. That’s been a consistent observation from operators he’s questioned during the last year.
“You see more players playing both tables and slots. Bringing slot mechanics, slot graphics-quality, and bonus game experiences into the table space is more interesting, more appealing to the younger crowd especially,” Knight says.
That’s why Monopoly-themed slots, and now Galaxy’s latest branding experience with Yahtzee – games have been installed in three casinos – are so successful.
“Brands are very important across all levels,” Knight say. “Whether we’re talking about Monopoly or our own brands, our own IP, like 100 Plus Three, or even the Galaxy Gaming brand. Those brands create trust. Stuff like Monopoly, Yahtzee.
“It’s not just the interest it creates, but it’s that the player trusts it. It’s a brand they know and love, the mechanics that they’re familiar with.”
But the most important brand is an obvious one for Knight.
“I don’t want to ignore our great brands, including the company,” he says. “I like to say the most important brand that we have is Galaxy Gaming, and it all it all comes under that.”
