Couch Potato

Theme of Couch Potato Slot

As you might have guessed from the name, Couch Potato is based on the idea of lazing around on your couch at home, maybe watching the TV and munching on snacks. The logo of the game echoes this idea with a potato guy slumped on a sofa that's shaped into the word potato, surrounded by yellow cushions, each of which forms the letters of the word couch. This lazy theme is continued in the very plain design of the slot, which offers a no-frills approach to gameplay, making it particularly refreshing when compared to the often overwhelming bells and whistles of many modern multi-payline slots. This is one of the favourite games by American casino players. 

The symbols are also based on the overall theme of this game, though subtly, with the bar symbols taking the form of chocolate bars with one of the corners eaten. The 7 symbols have an almost textile or wallpaper feel to their design, which again plays nicely into the game's theme, while the wild symbol, the TV showing Couch Potato, suitably highlights its importance in the game, as we'll see shortly.

It's fair to say that this is a muted or understated slot when it comes to the theme, which in itself actually works well in this case since it's all about laziness and chilling out!

Soundtrack of This Game

Couch Potato is the kind of game that you can quite happily play while watching TV, and this may very well be by design! The slot doesn't have any background music, so there's no need to worry about loud noises blaring over your favourite TV show. Simplicity is the name of this game and this trait extends to the sound effects too, with only a few actions resulting in any audible response, and that very minimal when it does occur.

One such sound you'll hear is when you choose your bet value, which triggers a slight beep and click. This actually draws attention to the change of the highlighted column in the paytable so you can see what each winning line pays out for your particular bet value.

Clicking the spin button emits a brief blip before the wheels spin with a quiet, somewhat land-based casino slot reminiscent whirring sound. Trigger a win and you'll be notified by a short blippy sequence of tones.

Again, keeping things simple and stress-free was clearly the goal with the design of this game, avoiding jarring interruptions of audio at every turn and opting instead for minimalism for a more relaxed slot-spinning experience.

Bonus Feature

As a classic style slot with only three reels and a single payline, you'd be right to assume that this game isn't exactly brimming with special features and bonus rounds. In all fairness, that kind of modern design simply wouldn't work with the lazy, couch potato theme. However, that's not to say this slot is entirely devoid of excitement. Just consider the fact that although Couch Potato was launched back in 2015, it's still a relatively popular game, so there's obviously something special about it!

That 'x factor' is largely to do with the special effects of the wild symbol, but let's take a look at how the other symbols pay too...

• 1 symbol pays: The bunch of cherries symbol, a staple of most classic slots, pays out when just a single one of them appears anywhere on the payline. You'd be hard-pressed to find another slot that does this!
• Any Bars pays: There are three different Bar symbols in this game: red, green and yellow. Pays can be triggered by any combination of these symbols on the payline.
• Any 7s pays: Similarly, any combination of the two types of 7 symbols also results in a payout.
• Wild multipliers: The main feature of this game, the Couch Potato TV wild symbol not only stands in for other symbols, but one of them in your payline multiplies your win by 5x, while two in a payline boosts your win by a whopping 25x!

Betting Limits

Sticking with the simple design, your betting options are kept clean and tidy too in Couch Potato. You can choose to view your bet as credits or coins, and switching between these two options is simply a case of clicking on your balance where it says Credits or Coins. When you do this, you'll notice that the amount in the bet box will also change, but only by the appearance or disappearance of decimal places.

Speaking of the Bet box, there are only three options in this slot game when it comes to selecting your bet value. In coins, you can choose from 1, 2 or 3 per spin, which is 1.00, 2.00 or 3.00 in credits. What's important here is that your chosen bet per spin value will determine how much you get back when you win. Clicking on the arrow to the right of the screen will reveal the game's paytable, which shows you the various symbols along with their payouts. The three columns represent the three different bet values, with 3 coins obviously paying out the most: 6 coins for a single bunch of cherries symbols at the lowest ends of the scale, all the way up to 15,000 coins for lining up three Couch Potato TV wild symbols on that centre payline.

RTP and Volatility

There are two industry-standard measurements that are used to determine how much a slot is expected to pay out over the long term and the balance and frequency of small versus big wins. These are the Return to Player (RTP) and Volatility (or Variance) respectively.

The RTP of a slot is a theoretical measurement of how much, as a percentage, of the total money played is expected to be paid back to players. You can think of it as the opposite of the house edge. In the case of Couch Potato, the RTP is stated by Microgaming as 97.4%, which is higher than the industry average of around 96%, making it an attractive slot to play in terms of expected payouts.

Volatility in relation to slots gives you an idea of the balance and frequency of payouts, ranging from small, steady, frequent wins at the low end of the scale to large, varying, less frequent wins at the high end. Couch Potato's volatility is classed as a medium, which means there's a nice balance between small and large wins that you can expect quite frequently.

Couch Potato Tricks

As we've established, there aren't a whole lot of bells and whistles in this slot game, which means there aren't many ways to win beyond lining up symbols. Having said that, there are a few things to watch out for when it comes to playing this game that will result in wins and if you make a few minor tweaks you can maximize those wins:

• Choose the maximum bet value per spin: Since you have three-bet values you can choose from, and each of these results in different payouts for lining up those symbols, it makes sense to play at the largest bet value so you can get the maximum payout when you do win!
• Watch those cherries: Remember the bunch of cherries symbol is the only one in the game that pays out for a single one on the payline, regardless of where it is. It also pays out for two of them on the payline, so they're well worth watching out for!
• Track those tellys: The Couch Potato TV symbols are wilds, substituting for any other symbol to help you make up those winning lines, but you'll also get a 5x multiplier with one, and a 25x multiplier with two!

Play Couch Potato With Real Money

Couch Potato is one of those slots that doesn't pretend to be something it's not. Against the backdrop of the hundreds of online slots that boast multiple paylines, exciting soundtracks, elaborate bonus features and intricately designed themes, Couch Potato offers something a bit more plain, simple and compatible with our need to just chill out at times rather than being constantly stimulated and excited. It's the perfect companion to an evening on the sofa with the added benefit of a potential big win with minimal effort!

Ready to try Couch Potato for real? Simply sign up at any of the carefully reviewed online casinos featured on this site, claim the welcome bonus then open Couch Potato and start winning by chilling!