Are you over 40 and love slot machines? The Random Runner might give you a tingle in your stomach. For years, the Random Runner was the best-known slot machine in Australia. You can now play it at the Australia crypto casino.
Nowadays, you can play the Random Runner in legal online casinos.
But from 1988 to 1995, you played the game in pubs and gaming halls.
The physical Random Runner was the first so-called ‘peak box’ or ‘peak machine.’ The Random Runner didn’t give a prize for a while until it went wild. It could take days before the slot machine started running, but it was also won after the win. Hence the nickname.
For six years, the Random Runner was present in gaming halls, often rows thick. After 1995, the slot machine was no longer played. Who invented the Random Runner? Why?
In 1986, money-winning slot machines became legal in Australia. Playing slot machines had long been commonplace, but officially you could not win money on them. Moreover, the machines did not pay out any prizes or ringing cash.
However, it is a public secret that 200 points on the Super Dice or the Big Bonus will earn you 50 guilders from the snack bar owner or the pub owner who has the slot machine in question in his establishment.
In the summer of 1986, the Law on Gaming changed. Then, slots that pays out cash is allowed in Australia. Mister Casino quotes Het Parool of Wednesday, January 8, 1986:
At the tenth trade fair of the Vereniging Automatenhandel Nederland (VAN), which was opened yesterday in the RAI by State Secretary Korte-Van Hemel of Justice, an entirely new type of slot machine was introduced. The industry is preparing for a switch from slot machines to instant payouts.
One game, i.e., one spin, may cost a maximum of a quarter (25 cents), and the maximum loss per hour may not exceed 50 guilders on average. Parool:
At least sixty percent of the stake must based on a new law, which is expected to come into force in July, fall into the money tray in hard cash. This will put an end to the growing practice of payouts by the operator, which is, in fact, illegal.
The maximum prize on the new slot machines will also be 50 guilders per spin or 200 points.
In 1988 the Random Runner was introduced.
The pokie was invented by Australian gambling entrepreneur Steven (also known as Steef) Rouvoet and the famous slot machine programmer Ton de Leijer. Rouvoet was the founder and owner of the slot machine manufacturer Rouvoet Electronics B.V. in Den Bosch.
It is a slot machine that was different from all the machines in the gaming hall in Australia at that time.
Like many other slot machines, The Random Runner has a ‘top game’ that you can play when you have won a prize on the regular reels.
On all other machines, the maximum win on the top game is 200 points – after that, the top game stops.
At the Random Runner, the winmeter of the top game goes up to 800 points, so 200 guilders. Winning more is also possible, as all winnings above 800 points are paid out in cash, after which the top game continues.
Three more things that are special:
The Random Runner is programmed differently. The slot machine game is what we now call ‘volatile.’ You can win the jackpot but also lose (a lot of) money on it.
The top game of the Random Runner is played with a stake of 5 points, namely 4 points from the winmeter and 1 point from the regular balance. All other slot machines on the Australian market play the top game with a bet of 4 points.
The paytable is positioned in the middle of the machine. So you don’t have to bend down to take out the coins. And it is straightforward to throw the coins from the paytable back into the slot if you feel like it. Rouvoet Electronics calls this: “Payout tray at convenient height!
The slot machine needed some time to become famous. This may also be because you don’t usually reach the ‘peak’ with a few tens of euros. For the Random Runner, you have to sit down for a while.
The fact that the Random Runner is quietly gaining more and more fans can be deduced from the newspaper. The reward for a tip that leads to two stolen Random Runners is no less than 10,000 guilders.
The operator earns so much from the Random Runner that he is prepared to pay 10,000 guilders to get them back.
Why doesn’t he just order two new ones? Because the enthusiasm for the machines has become so great that Rouvoet Electronics cannot keep up with the demand.
Has the Random Runner been forgotten? No. Not. Many gamblers still think of the exciting spiky ‘sticky cupboard’ with much love and hatred.
One small consolation: in 2022, you can play the online Random Runner of game maker Eurocoin Interactive/Greentube in online casinos like Jack’s Casino Online.
This is the real Random Runner, with the same game, sound, and graphics. However, only the online version of the Random Runner no longer has peak behavior.
In online casinos, every spin on a slot machine is entirely random. There is no pattern to the wins and losses. The Random Runner is only now really living up to its name.
To conclude. Want to watch and listen to the original physical Random Runner one more time? Please do!
