The Best 5 Online Games of the Decade

Normally, these lists require an addendum of “so far” to be added to “of the decade”, but we are almost finished with the 2010s, so we can pretty much consider this a definitive list as we move towards a new decade.

Anyway, online casino games are hugely popular in Canada, and there has been an explosion of growth as all of us have become connected through smartphones and tablets. But what have been the smash hits of the decade? What games do Canadians keep coming back to again and again? Below is our list of the 5 best (and most popular) online casino games of the decade:

The king of casino games? Perhaps. Certainly, there are few casino games ever created for the online market that have had as many plays as NetEnt’s signature game. The thing about Starburst, which is a slot with a cosmic/space theme, is that it is so simple to play, and really concentrates on a couple of special features. In that sense, it’s hard to put a finger on why it is still one of the most popular games on the planet nearly a decade after its release. But then again, people love non-complicated games, and you can put Starburst into a similar bracket to video games like Tetris and board games like checkers. Timeless.

It took Microgaming about two years to create this single game, and you can see why when you have a look at it. When you start your journey on Avalon II – and it is a journey across a mystical world of Arthurian myths – you get so much more than a casino game; solve riddles, forge the sword, defeat the black knight and find the Holy Grail. Despite being five years old (a lifetime in casino games) it’s still arguably the most ambitious game ever created.

Most of the innovation in the online casino industry has come in the form of big budget slot games. That’s mostly fair enough, because players don’t really want you to mess too much with the classic games. However, Playtech had a masterstroke when they settled on Age of the Gods Roulette. Basically, it’s your standard roulette which can be played in a live or virtual format. You can play this one at Mansion Casino, which allows bank transfer and pretty much every other popular payment method available to Canadians.

The design is different, i.e. it puts you in a word of myths and gods of ancient Greece. But most importantly the game has a whopping big jackpot that is guaranteed to be worth $100k or above. The jackpot is awarded randomly and is funded by taking a small percentage of each player’s bets. A simple twist on a classic game.

Here’s the thing about jackpot slots: Most of the buzz has swirled around the record-breaking games like Mega Moolah, which have paid out over $20 million CAD to individual players. However, those jackpots are connected across a range of different games. Jackpot Giant, meanwhile, is a standalone title, where any spin can randomly trigger the big payout. That top prize has been worth over $15 million before. As a standalone game that’s mightily impressive, and the reason Jackpot Giant makes our list above some more famous competitors.

Arguably vying with Starburst as NetEnt’s most beloved game, Gonzo’s Quest aims to take you on an adventure to search for ancient Mayan treasure. It’s a beautifully designed game, and one of the first moves for slot makers to create games on the increasingly popular 3D format. Moreover, Gonzo’s Quest has that quality that – we would argue – defines the best casino games; namely, it’s entertainment value hides the fact that the game has a mighty punch when it comes to payouts.