Online Fruit Machine: Best Fruit Themed Slots 2024

Despite the shift from the corner of the pub into the virtual world, fruit slot machines remain as popular as ever with online casino players. This is in part because of their simple yet familiar and friendly look and feel.

Fruit slots can be a great introduction to slot games for inexperienced players. While some include bonus features and symbols, many remain loyal to their basic roots. Fruit slots offer some uncomplicated, enjoyable gameplay, which is improved further thanks to good RTP and volatility levels.

Below, you’ll find a list including some of the very best online fruit machines available. They cover a range of options, ranging from simple, straightforward games to slots that push boundaries with cutting-edge graphics and fresh, innovative mechanics.

Top Slot Sites for Fruit Machine Games

If you’re looking to play fantastic online fruit machine games, then you’ll want to play them at the best possible sites. There’s an endless choice of online casinos and slot sites to choose from, which can end up being pretty confusing. Here at JohnSlots, we know a thing or two about identifying the best places to play and can point you in the right direction. So, you can spend less time searching and more time playing.

So, take a look at the list of top choices we’ve put together and find the right fruit machine online casino to suit your needs.

All of the sites we recommend have been rigorously researched and tested. They come with an excellent selection of varied fruit machine games which are supported by fair promotional offers that help you along the way. They even come with robust customer support that’s available around the clock and an assortment of popular payment methods to handle your deposits and withdrawals. Lastly, all these sites are licensed by top gambling regulators such as the UKGC and MGA – so you can rest assured that they’re both legitimate and safe.

Online Fruit Machines – History and Basics

Before you get into all the merits of online fruit machines, we’ll take a look at these games’ long history and the winding road that has ultimately brought them to this point. Fruit machines or fruit slots, as they’re known across the pond, trace their origins back to the late 19th century.

At this time, slot machines became all the rage, starting with Charles Fey’s Liberty Bell machine in 1895. It was an incredibly simple slot machine with three reels and symbols, including horseshoes, stars and playing card suit symbols. The machine’s incredible success led to several new imitators on the market and in the 1900s, Industry Novelty Company gave us the iconic fruit symbols.

But the company didn’t simply pick fruit symbols to accompany their game because they liked the vibe and design. Rather than offering cash prizes, fruit machines gave out gum prizes and the fruit symbols in the game represented the gum flavours you could potentially win. As you might imagine, these machines were incredibly popular, so much so that long after gum prizes stopped being a thing, fruit machines continued to evolve.

In the 1960s, fruit machines made the transition from mechanical to electromechanical and in the 1990s, they made a full transition to the digital games we enjoy today. Not only did the fruit machines at your local pub get a nice upgrade, but you could now also enjoy the games online. The online versions of fruit machines stuck to the traditional look but brought in better graphics and animations, sound effects and bonus features.

Although you may find some online versions that get a bit complex, fruit machines have remained incredibly simple to play. They work using a random number generator which makes sure all wins or losses are completely random. You set your preferred bet level and then simply hit the spin button. If matching symbols land in one of the winning paylines, you claim a prize. In some online fruit machines, you get to trigger free spins bonuses or instant cash prizes, too – but the basics tend to remain the same across the board.

Why is a Fruit Machine Called a “Puggy”?

Anyone living in Scotland will most likely refer to fruit machines as a “puggy”. Though it may seem strange to anyone outside the country, puggy is derived from “puggie”, a Scottish dialect word that was generally used for a small monkey. Back in the day, these monkeys would be part of the entertainment, forming part of shows and such. So, because fruit machines offered in some ways a similar form of amusement, people in Scotland started referring to them as puggies. The word became popular around the 1960s when fruit machines became a staple at local pubs and arcades and has continued to be used ever since.

Popular Fruit Machines

Given their popularity, loads of game providers have been creating all sorts of online fruit machines over the years. While some of these may feel like lazy copies of similar games, there have been a few particular online fruit machines that have truly managed to stand out from this sea of mediocrity. These games have found ways to stick to the traditional formula, while also making use of more innovative mechanics and creative game design to push them to the next level.

Some of these popular fruit machines have remained conservative like NetEnt’s Berry Burst Max, which sticks to incredibly simple mechanics, while also swapping out paylines for cluster pays. Others like NoLimit City’s Fruits have gone for a more edgy approach with loads of modern features like free spins, sticky symbols and mystery symbols through the wrapper feature. It’s also worth remembering that all video slots have been influenced by fruit machines in some way, shape or form.

Take Deal or No Deal Lightning Spins as an example. Sure, you won’t see a single fruit symbol in sight, but the game’s core features and mechanics all build on the popular fruit machine recipe. You can get basic wins across 20 paylines and even boost your rewards with wild symbols, free spins, jackpot prizes and the iconic Deal or No Deal bonus.

Why are fruit slot machines so popular?

The popularity of such online slots comes from a number of factors such as their:

• Simple game design and paytable
• Easy to recognise and familiar fruit symbols
• Uncluttered game mechanics
• Often favourable RTP

These games are often very straightforward, much like their ancestral land-based slot machines. The symbols of cherries, lemons, watermelons, lucky 7s and more have become classics in their own right. Plus, a small number of reels and paylines means that there is little room for confusion.

Their simplicity makes them the perfect introduction to the world of fruit slot games for new players. But even veteran players gravitate towards these games. For a relaxed, casual gambling experience, there’s no replacing a favourite fruit slot at any online casino.

Another reason seasoned players like these slots so much is that their RTP is often favourable. The return to player value shows how much of their money a player can expect to recoup over the long term. The best fruit machine slots have high RTP values, which is very appealing to any savvy online casino player.

Top Online Fruit Machines – Highlights and In-Depth Review

There are literally hundreds of fruit machine slots out there. Indeed, this might be the biggest category of slot games of all! Here are our picks of the best fruit slots you can play at online casinos.

1. Berry Burst Max by NetEnt

NetEnt tried something new with BerryBurst and BerryBurst MAX and the gamble seems to have paid off! The biggest difference between these two titles is the size of the maximum win, which is 100,000 coins for BerryBurst and double that for the MAX version.

Here we are treated to a bright and colourful fruit slot, built on a 5 x 3 reel set. There are no paylines with clusters paying out on this slot instead. The two games have similar RTP values too, with BerryBurst coming in at a slightly higher 96.56% to MAX’s 96.23%.

Both games are classified as medium volatility. We appreciate what NetEnt has done with this pair as it’s clear they have listened to players when they complained that high-betting gamblers often feel left out when playing their games.

2. Hot Chilli by Pragmatic Play

Things are really heating up now that Pragmatic Play has given us such a fiery slot in Hot Chilli. The simple layout here is complemented by the unusual oriental hot pot theme with the paytable on the left of the screen. Very handy indeed.

Hot Chilli is built on a 3 x 3 slot grid which is a gentle nod back to the world of classic fruit slots. The main downside of playing this game is that you might have to order a takeaway, such are the detailed and tasty looking graphics here.

There are no free spins on offer here but with an RTP of 96.52% and medium volatility plus a multiplier up to 5x, this hot little slot should keep most players dipping in for more.

3. Fruitoids by Yggdrasil

Fruitoids, first released in 2014 is quite similar to another Yggdrasil release, Winterberries. Both slots share an interesting frozen fruit theme, some simple but thrilling features, and medium slot variance.

Fruitoids has 5 reels, 3 rows and 25 paylines. The game feels like a classic fruit slot as it revolves around the sticky wins feature, which will trigger respins and multipliers. There are no free spins here so the gameplay is kept nice and simple.

Fruitoids has a medium variance and a generous RTP of 96.70% which goes some way to explain its continued popularity among online casino players.

4. Fruit Shop by NetEnt

If you like your fruit slots stripped down to the basics then Fruit Shop by NetEnt is a great online slot pick. With some great features that can occur quite frequently, it’s certainly worth sticking with some possible longer-term gains.

Some players might not enjoy the fact that they can only trigger 5 free spins at a time but it’s activated by any fruit symbol payline. Given it can be triggered so often there are some good possible wins via free spins here. In the free spins feature, wilds can come into play to trigger multipliers up to 4x which is great to see.

5. Imperial Fruits: 100 Lines by Playson

If you like your fruit slots with a dash of regal glamour then step right this way for Imperial Fruits: 100 Lines from the team at Playson. This game is basic, to say the least, there’s no complicated bonus feature to be found anywhere here.

The classic symbols are 7 low-value fruits which payout between x20 and x100 the initial bet when you land 5 on any pay line. The shining Diamond Scatter, Gold Scatter and the Lucky 7 will bring the bigger payouts awarding you with up to x400 your bet.

6. Fruit Case by NetEnt

You can get your five-a-day in one shot here thanks to the cutesy, cartoon-style fruit symbols on show in Fruit Case. While this fruit slot isn’t stuffed with cool features, it certainly has enough going for it to keep the casual casino game player more than happy.

Fruit Case is an interesting variation of the traditional fruit slot thanks to its use of the Avalanche feature. Symbols fall into place from the top of the screen and when a winning combination lands, those symbols are squashed and then disappear. More symbols then fall from above to take their place.

With an RTP of 96.42% and medium variance, this is a good fun fruit slot for the most novice or casual online casino players to enjoy.

7. Fruit Xtreme by Playson

For players who like to keep things simple, Fruit Xtreme by Playson could be the ideal fruit slot game. It’s a simple video slot that builds excitement through stacked symbols and multipliers instead of free spins or bonus features.

The game caters around stacked fruits symbols which can give multipliers up to 5x your wager per spin. With medium volatility and an RTP of 96.3%, this is a steady slot game without the bells and whistles which some fruits offer.

8. Fruits by Nolimit City

Nolimit City has produced a groundbreaking mobile-first slot in Fruits. The paylines here are not static but they change to fit your device when you hold it in landscape or portrait mode.

With the 12 fruit-shaped symbols you might think that this is a total throwback fruit slot but it’s a bit more advanced than that in reality. With free spins, sticky fruit spins and the innovative mystery wrappers feature there’s plenty going on here. The RTP is just above average at 96.23%.

9. Inferno Star by Play’n GO

Inferno Star by Play’n GO is mostly a classic fruit machine slot. You’ll see all the classic fruit symbols here but this game is also about the flaming sun which is at the heart of the action.

There’s a built-in gamble feature for up to 4x your bet plus the epic Raging Sun Re-Spins which can keep going to give you a mighty 2,500x your stake. With a solid 96% RTP, it’s really the high volatility on this fruit slot which will bring you some potential big wins. Now that’s flamin’ hot!

10. Extra Juicy by Pragmatic Play

Pragmatic Play has come up with colourful looking makeover of the classic fruit slot theme in their video slot Extra Juicy. The slot has an RTP slightly above average at 96.52% and is considered extremely volatile.

The extra in extra juicy comes from the fact that a winning pay line can start in the middle of the reels and doesn’t need to start at reel one on the left. There’s also the nifty little Progressive Multiplier Free Spins feature which can retrigger for a multiplier up to 60x your bet. Juicy stuff indeed!

Free Fruit Slots – Play Online

If you’re not quite ready to put your money on the line, you can always enjoy some free fruit machine games. There are loads of game providers offering free fruit slots games online, so you can spin away to your heart’s content, risk-free.

While some of these titles have been designed to be entirely free, you’ll also find fruit slots free demos featured in most of our slot reviews. With the latter, you get to experience all that the full game has to offer, but wager using free credits instead of real money. It’s the best way to try out a fruit slot machine free of charge, helping you to understand the game’s mechanics and win potential before taking the plunge and playing with your funds.

Below, we’ve included some of the best fruit slot machine games you can play free on JohnSlots, so you can start spinning for fun, as soon as you like.

Biggest Fruit Slot Wins in History

Well, the biggest fruit slot wins have unmistakably come from the United States, with some lucky players landing life-changing scores worth millions of dollars. The top three wins came from Las Vegas, awarding $27.5 million, $34.9 million and $39.7 million, respectively.

Play at the best fruit slot games at JohnSlots!

When you start to search for a new fruit slot to play it can be a little overwhelming. Fear not, casino friends, the team at JohnSlots are there for you. Our expert team of fruit slot experts have picked out a great selection of quality fruit slots for you.

At JohnSlots you’ll find the latest reviews and info covering all the best fruit slots, game providers and casino bonuses on offer right now. We take the time to break down each and every fruit slot which we encounter so that you can see if it suits your own personal casino gaming style.