The cherry—simple and sweet. Whether you’re topping a dessert, stirring up a cocktail, or just enjoying a fresh bite, this little red berry has earned its place as a staple in kitchens around the world. But the cherry isn’t just a delicious treat; it’s also found on casino slot machines.
In slot machines you would find watermelons, oranges, lemons and other fruit. But of all the symbols that you would expect to find on a classic slot, the cherry is perhaps the most iconic of them all.
But where did the symbol come from in the first place, and why has it retained such an iconic status in the world of gambling? Log on to any casino – whether a low deposit PayPal casino or a platform which accepts deposits of various amounts made by Skrill/Neteller, debit cards, and other payment methods, and the world of slots will open up on any reputable online platform.
Among all the games will be classic and modern style slots with a big bounty of cherries scattered throughout.
Fruity Firsts
In the early 1900s when slots were becoming popular, they also faced a big barrier through bans on gambling that were in place across much of the USA. So game designers instead got creative and found a working loophole for this problem.
Slot machines were adapted to offer chewing gum as prizes instead of cash rewards. Naturally, to make things more enticing, there was a variety of flavours up for grabs. Those fruity flavours had to be represented in the game, and that is where the fruit symbols like the cherry came onto the scene.
Modern Use of the Cherry Symbol
Because it’s a classic, older symbol, cherries typically don’t feature as anything other than small value icons. It’s uncommon to find it used as bonus symbols in modern games unless it is a specific cherry-themed game.
So why is the cherry symbol still around on modern slots? It’s a nostalgic nod to the heritage of slot machines, of course. Cherries are still very much a recognisable symbol that players expect to see, and prominently appear in games like the following:
Cherry Cherry
This title from Caleta Gaming is about as close to a classic fruit machine as you can get, so much so there is no bonus game on it. There is a good 97% Return to Player on the game, which features just one pay line and has low volatility. The top payout is 500x the total bet and is perfectly suited to newcomers to online casinos. Cherry Cherry features other classic symbols like Lucky 7, Bells and Bars.
Miss Cherry Fruits
Taking things up a notch is Miss Cherry Fruits from BGaming and while the graphics are a little retro, there are 20 paylines available on the machine. It’s also a medium volatility, but a lower RTP at around 95%. Miss Cherry Fruits delivers an expanding wild feature and re-spins.
The game’s main character, Miss Cherry, is the lucky wild symbol in the game, appearing on reels 2, 3 and 4. When she shows up she will expand to cover the entire reel and if she appears again, that leads to re-spins. While Miss Cherry has a lot of classic style about it, it’s modern and offers up to a x500 stake payout.
Wild Cherry Blast
This is a fun twist on the classic fruit machine from Nucleus Gaming, a slot that has a top win of x225. Instead of classic fruit symbols, it instead uses things like blueberries, strawberries and blackberries.
There are a few features of the game that take the play to a new level. The Juicer Machine drops wild symbols onto the reels, which will transform themselves into standard wilds after 10 spins.
There are also Free Spins through Wilds and Cherry Bombs, which is where the game gets its name from. A single cherry bomb can only appear during a round of free spins, but they are the focal point of the game as they lead to high-value wilds and scatters.
CherryPop
Avatar UX created the Cherry Pop, which features a mix of fruits and luck symbols like shamrocks and horseshoes. The game has up to 486 ways to win with the top payout being top being worth 56,386x. The PopWins feature is what is craved the most, as winning symbols are removed and replaced with not one, but two new symbols.
With the extra symbols and a chance to expand the reels from the base 5 to 6, the slot even gives players the chance to wager spins against a Gamble Wheel. There’s an innovative progressive multiplier in the free-spins round as well as a bonus buy feature when you can skip the base level and get straight to the bonus.
Cherries Everywhere!
The cherry is one of the most iconic symbols of casino play that has been around since the early 20th century. It’s still going strong today in high-end, modern video slots and remains an endearing symbol of slot machine heritage.
The cherry symbol has remained a staple in slot machines since the early 1900s, evolving from a prize for gum into a nostalgic icon. Its enduring presence highlights the balance between classic design and modern gaming. Despite newer features, cherries still evoke a sense of tradition.