New slots come out every month. They grab our attention with their unique titles and give us tremendous entertainment for as long as our budget allows. But have you ever realized most machines fall into a small collection of themes?

Take a moment and list your ten favorite online slots. Is there a game based on melons, cherries and oranges? Take a look at another slot. Is it inspired by a mythical story? Or are many of your favorite slots based on wildlife?

Now, we are not saying there are just five slot themes in the world. But these are the most common options and the best games in these themes.

Fruit Slots

This category needs no introduction. It’s the oldest theme in the online slot industry. And it’s not going anywhere. Of the many released games every year, a significant percentage of them are based on fruits.

As we mentioned, melons, cherries, peaches and lemons are the most used fruits. Sometimes these games also add a bell, the number 7, horse shoe and poker suit letter to the symbols. And that’s alright.

Fruit themed slots can be great or terrible. It’s in your best interest to play high-quality, top RTP slots like Jackpot Jester, Mega Joker, and Double Triple Chance. Ideally, choose games from trustworthy developers to be assured of game fairness.

Also, avoid classic slots. Sure, they’re mostly inspired by fruits. But they have low payout rates. Their graphics are subpar and often lack in-game features like free spins, wilds and jackpots. Instead, opt for top-rated video slots.

Ancient Egypt

Although civilization began in Mesopotamia, it advanced sporadically in Egypt. Ancient Egyptians were also excellent record-keepers. And due to that, they left behind tons of intriguing treasures from the early ages.

Think of pyramids, mummies, mysterious books, and stones. Then there are famous Egyptian figures like Cleopatra, and Ramses II. The country’s legendary history has inspired thousands of storytellers, moviemakers, documentary creators and slot developers.

In the slot scene, ancient Egypt themed slots range from popular figures, to pyramids and everything in between. Without further ado, the best slots in this theme are:

• Cleopatra Slot
• 40 Almighty Ramses II
• Gods of Giza
• Mega Moolah: ISIS
• Pyramid: Quest for Immortality

The beauty of ancient Egypt slots is that they’re both entertaining and informative. Everyday you play an ancient Egypt-themed slot, you learn something new and interesting.

Book-themed Slots

Book-themed slots have been growing popular in the last decade for several reasons. First, there’s a craze in Hollywood where producers create films inspired by commercially successful books. Second, the book genre is massively untapped in the casino space—there are far too few book-themed slots in the industry.

As you would expect, the most famous book-themed slots come from legendary books. Think of Harry Potter, The Wizard of Oz, Lord of the Rings and Star Trek. Any book that’s famous in the popular culture probably has a slot to its name by now.

Should you play every slot themed after your favorite book? Probably not and here’s why. There are over 100 slot developers in the world. And they all differ when it comes to producing quality games.

In light of that information, check this list of gambling sites for a guide on where you can play the best book-themed slots online. For clarity, the guide shows you where to play top-rated slots like Book of Ra, Game of Thrones, Dracula and Hell boy.

Movie and TV

In the early days of online slots, only a couple of software providers ventured into slots based on TV and film. Developers were probably not sure whether the theme would pick up. And they were afraid having to share profits with copyright owners would dwindle their bottom line.

With time, developer after developer began to create slots based on movies. Microgaming pioneered this niche with the release of Lara Croft: Tomb Raider in 2001. The game became an instant hit and the developer released a sequel in 2003.

Today, nearly every huge Hollywood franchise has a slot to its name. Think of Game of Thrones, Narcos, the Big Bang Theory and Terminator. Most of these games come from big-name developers, which ensures they are of high-quality.

However, the games are unique in many ways. And that means the entertainment value you experience from a slot can vary immensely. Of course, your payout potential also differs from one game to another.

For example, Jurassic Park by NetEnt has a 96% RTP. But Game of Thrones from Microgaming has a 94% payout rate. The difference might seem small. But it plays a role in determine how often you win and lose.

That said, many casino experts advise against playing branded TV-themed slots. Developers need to make more money from these games to cater for copyright fees. And guess how they make the money? It’s by lowering your potential profits and increasing volatility in the game.

Norse/Greek Mythology Slots

Norse and Greek mythology slots are surprisingly some of the best-rated slots online. Their case to fame is the rapid growth of online gambling in the Nordic region in the past 15 years. In all fairness, Norse and Greek mythologies have always intrigued people from all parts of the world.

All the same, you don’t want to play a slot just because it’s a Vikings’ slot or it features your favorite Greek god. Invest more time into research to learn more about its features, developer and payout percentage.

Choose fan-favorite slots like Thunderstruck II, Hall of Gods and Zeus III. They’ve been tried and tested. And people found them both exciting and potentially profitable.

Summary

Online slots are themed after tons of stuff. But there are themes every software developer targets. These genres have the biggest fans, which means games are likely to receive wide adoption fast.

We’re talking about fruits, books, Vikings, ancient Egypt, movies and TV. Of course, there are more themes we should have included to this list: music, horror, oriental, adventure, Irish, crime and space themed slots.