Few people know that carnival games derive roots from the royal courts of the Renaissance period. They started as sporting activities and card tricks. Once the concept of traveling road shows got adopted in the 1800s in the US, they morphed into vaudevillian-like magic shows. Later on, in the early 20th-century, they incorporated mechanical elements, and prize machines got birthed.

Around this time, arcades appeared, which mainly consisted of coin-operated pinball machines. The ones hosting video games, the likes we associate with these venues sprung up in the late 1970s. They quickly got so popular that Dave & Busters and Chuck E. Cheese restaurants began offering them. In the late 1980s and at the start of the 1990s, arcades were the main gathering spots for male teens and a premium entertainment option. That all changed with the rise of home video game consoles.

Today, fair and arcade-like gaming options are making a comeback in the unlikeliest of places, online casinos. In the past decade, gambling sites have begun experimenting with featuring products from these genres. Interactive gaming is currently a fledgling industry with thousands of active platforms floating around in the digital sphere, each advertising that it is home to the best casino bonus. What follows is a quick rundown of four unique betting experiences that can induce fair and arcade gaming nostalgia from an online casino lobby.

Tetris Extreme

Fun bit of trivia. Tetris is an invention of a Russian programmer named Alexey Pjitnov, who worked as a software engineer at Moscow’s Soviet Academy of Sciences. He created this simple game that grew into a global phenomenon when testing the then-novel Electronika 60 computer. Tetris quickly became one of the most addictive puzzle games on the planet with a current vast player base. In 2019, developer Red7 figured out a way to morph it into a seven-reel, ten-row slot with an RTP of 94% in its base gameplay. Tetris Extreme by Red7 has a cluster-wins-mechanism and offers a Mega Drop Jackpot.  

Coin Pusher – Ganesh Wealth

Coin pushers are machines featured at arcades, fairs, and even some restaurants. They let players place tokens/coins through a slot hoping that they will knock off a stockpile of them from an edge and win prizes. According to gaming historians, these machines first appeared in 1962 in Europe, with Cromptons Leisure Machines first developing them. Its original product in this category bore the name Wheel-a-Win and was a massive hit. Few coin pusher-like titles exist on gambling sites, with a super trending one being Ganesha Wealth by PlayStar. It got released in June of 2021, boasting a Hindi theme.

Rubik’s Riches

Likely any layperson has seen or tried to solve a Rubik’s Cube at one point in their life. It is a 3D combination puzzle invented by Hungarian sculptor Ernő Rubik in 1974, who licensed it to the Ideal Toy Corporation. The original cube had six faces, covered by nine stickers in six solid colors. In 2013, online gambling juggernaut Playtech attempted to bring the Rubik’s Cube concept into the slot format via Rubik’s Riches. This novel title mixed both genres in a product with an RTP of 94.5%.

Whack-A-Jackpot

Whac-A-Mole machines are popular carnival games that the Japanese TOGO company created in 1975.  The following year, this invention was the second highest-grossing electro-mechanical game in the country. It made its US debut in 1977 at pinball parlors before reaching amusement parks and carnivals. Whack-A-Jackpot is a 2014 Microgaming scratch card-like game that mimics the original Whac-A-Mole machines to a T. 

Ori and the Blind Forest is an indie game by Moon Studios that has won several awards in artistic achievement, animation, and musical composition. 

The Prologue:

You begin the game as a small forest spirit named Ori, who falls from the Spirit Tree during a storm. He is adopted by a creature named Naru but is quickly orphaned when a devastating event sweeps through the forest and wipes out their food resources. Naru gives Ori the remaining food and starves to death. Now, Ori must set out into the forest alone in an attempt to stay alive. 

The young spirit eventually loses energy and collapses near the Spirit Tree. A blue orb named Sein revives him. Here, the prologue ends, and the game begins. From here on out, Ori and Sein set off to restore balance to the forest. They recover its main elements: Waters, Winds, and Warmth. 

The Main Story: 

Two other primary characters are introduced at this point – Gumo and Kuru. Gumo is a spider-like creature who seems evil initially but becomes a friend when Ori helps them out of a sticky situation. Kuru is a large owl. It remains an antagonist for much longer, but its aggressive nature is explained in the game’s latter stages. 

The Ending: 

Gumo uses stored light from the Spirit Tree to help Naru. They team up to protect Sein and Ori, working together to restore warmth in the forest. Gumo sees the dangers that lie ahead, and in the game’s final act, Kuru catches Ori and Sein, but Naru protects them. Kuru changes his heart and takes Sein back to the Spirit Tree’s top to end the spread of fire throughout the forest. A giant light emits, wiping out the fire but ultimately wiping Kuru out in the process. 

What You Need to Do: 

Your task as the hero is to bring Ori back to his home and save the forest from dying. As you go through the game, you will gain more abilities. Eventually, you will be able to spend experience points on three different skill trees. 

Core Skills: 

• Spirit Flame
  This is the first skill that Ori learns, which can be used to attack enemies. To upgrade this skill, you need to put ability points into the Offensive Skill Tree. 
• Wall Jump
  By jumping repeatedly, Ori can climb walls. This skill allows you to gain access to areas that are usually inaccessible with a single jump. 
• Double Jump
  This is another essential skill that grants you access to new areas. You need to jump into the air while performing a double jump. Leru’s Ancestral Tree in Gumo’s Hideout gives you this ability. 
• Charge Jump
  To enable this skill, you need to hold a directional key to charge the Charge Jump and then let go to propel Ori in your desired direction. You can choose to charge straight up, hang on to a wall, or charge left or right. This skill is found in the Sorrow Pass. 
• Charge Flame
  This is an offensive skill that can be used to break specific barriers and damage units within a certain radius. It is found in Hollow Grove, and it is given by the spirit Ano’s Ancestral Tree. 
• Stomp
  Ori learned this skill in the Thornfelt Swamp. Using this skill, you can smash the ground and break barriers underneath you, thus damaging nearby enemies. 
• Bash
  Found in the Ginso Tree, the Bash ability is what allows Ori to fly through the air. It uses the momentum of a nearby lantern, projectile, or creature, and it can stop time for a while, giving you the time to choose a direction. The object you bash against is then flung in the opposite direction. 
• Climb
  This skill allows Ori to shimmy up and down a wall or hang onto them without doing a wall jump. To hold onto a wall, press the ‘Shift’ key or ‘RT.’
• Dash
  This skill allows Ori to move quickly in one direction for half a second. It is found in the Black Root Burrows and can be upgraded in the skill tree. 
• Light Burst
  Also found in the Black Root Burrows, this skill allows you to cast spheres of light into the air to light lanterns. 
• Kuro’s Feather
  With this feather, you can glide to the ground. You can also use it to be lifted up if you are in a wind tunnel. To pick up one of these feathers, you must distract Kuro on the way to the Misty Woods. 

Ability Tree

The ability tree is a collection of various knacks that Ori can purchase with Ability points and enhance their performance. The available abilities can cost either 1,2 or 3 points at a time. If you fail to produce the proper payment, Ori will be prevented from receiving that ability until they have accumulated enough points. 

Abilities may also be unattainable because Ori doesn’t have the skill that it enhances or has not bought the ability to come before it. If either of these options is true, the text below the description of the ability will be bright red. This will indicate that Ori does not have the necessary requirements to have that particular ability. 

The tree has three branches, each with abilities that share a common theme. They are: 

• Utility Abilities
  This branch is cyan, with abilities that help Ori with survival and defense. It is at the top of the tree. Some of the branch’s abilities include Rekindle, Charge Dash, Water Breath, and Air Dash. 
• Efficiency Abilities
  In the middle of the tree, this purple branch can help make exploration and pickups more efficient. Some of the abilities that come with this branch include Spirit Efficiency, Spirit Magnet, and Map Markers. 
• Combat Abilities
  These abilities enhance Ori’s offensive capabilities. This branch is at the bottom of the tree; it is red. Some of the skills on this branch include Quick Flame, Split Flame, and Ultra Stomp. 

You may be wondering what the best skill point build is, but ultimately, the answer to this question depends entirely on your gameplay. Investing ability points in the survival brand can make the game a lot easier, especially when you get to the Triple Jump. Offensive capabilities are convenient but not necessary. Most deaths in the game are caused by environmental damage. To find secret areas and extra pickups, you can search the exploration line or even the internet for additional information. 

Ori and the Blind Forest is an adventure game with beautifully designed visuals and an outstanding score. Developed by Moon Studios, it was released on March 1th for Windows, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. Reviewers have highly praised the storyline, graphics, level design, and gameplay.

If you loved Ori and the Blind Forest, make sure you check out its sequel, Ori and the Will of the Wisps!

The Indie Mega Week has just kicked off on the Humble Bundle store, offering discounts of up to 90% to over 100 amazing games available in the store. This promo only lasts until August 6th, so make sure you check out the Humble Store ASAP and browse through their offers. There are some great deals to be found!

If you don’t want to browse through the 140+ games discounted during this week, we’re posting some recommendations below of what we consider must buys in case you haven’t purchased them already:

Rocket League: available for 40% off, this is the game that everybody and their friends is playing. If you somehow haven’t purchased this game yet, make sure you take advantage of the discount now and jump into the game right away!

Banished: On sale with a discount of 66%, this is a must buy if you enjoy highly addictive city building sims. This is one of my favorite games over the years and I absolutely love playing it even though it has been some time since it was originally released. Still good, still a must play for those who haven’t done so already.

Beat Cop: Retro, pixelated graphics in an uniquely beautiful adventure game like no other, Beat Cop took the world by storm when it launched and we consider it a must play, no matter what your favorite genre is. And during this special week in the Humble store, you can get it at a huge discount: 66% off the original price!

Darkest Dungeon: When I first saw this game, I though that it looks just like your regular free to play mobile RPG. But if you have faith in it and the tens of thousands of players who tried it and were blown away, you’ll find a really deep and extremely good hardcore RPG with unique mechanics and approaches. It’s been out for a while, too, meaning that you can now get it for a huge discount: 71% off!

Space Engineers: Before No Man’s Sky and the plethora of similar simulation games, there was Space Engineers. Still in early access and still receiving constant and exceptional updates, this game keeps getting better and better, having improved a whole lot since it’s original launch a few years ago. You can jump into the space wagon right now by getting this game 50% off.

Crypt of the NecroDancer: Crypt of the NecroDancer is an award winning hardcore roguelike rhythm game. Move to the music and deliver beatdowns to the beat! Groove to the epic Danny Baranowsky soundtrack, or select songs from your own MP3 collection! A truly unique concept that’s worth checking out!

These are, of course, just our recommendations. There are around 145 games available at discounts of up to 90% on the Humble Bundle Store until August 6, so make sure you browse through them all. It’s impossible not to find at least a couple of games you’ve always wanted, now for a discounted price!