Fruits have become synonymous with classic-style entertainment within the gaming industry. Even with the modernization of slot machines and the development of titles with cutting-edge features and visuals, fruit slots have remained a favorite for millions of players worldwide. But how did this come to be? In this text, we’ll take a brisk walk down memory lane and explore the evolution of fruit slots from one-lever machines in bars to online video games on social casino sites like Fortune Wins.
What Are Fruit Slots?
Fruit slots are slot machines with fruit symbols on their spinning reels. The fruits most commonly used in these machines are cherries, lemons, oranges, plums, watermelons, strawberries, and grapes. Back then, the term was used to describe most slots, but today, the name is associated with titles featuring fruit symbols and simple game mechanics.
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History of Fruit Slots
From Liberty Bell to Fruit (Late 1800s)
Contrary to what many might believe, fruit slot machines are not the earliest in the industry. The first attempt at slot machines was a Sittman and Pitt invention that used five drums and 50 poker cards. To play, players would slip a coin into the machine and pull the lever, spinning the drums and revealing five poker cards. Based on the strength of the poker hand, the lucky player could get a beer or a pack of cigarettes. (Slot Machine Resource, 2006)
Nevertheless, due to the numerous possible poker combinations, devising a generalized reward mechanism was extremely challenging. Charles Fey decided to counter this by developing his own machine with just three spinning reels and five symbols, none of which were fruit-related. The five symbols were spades, diamonds, hearts, horseshoes, and the Liberty Bell. He aptly named it the Liberty Bell machine.
The machine’s simplicity made it an instant hit and several variations were created, including machines that used flags as symbols. However, just as Fey’s invention began to make serious waves around the country, lawmakers pushed for prohibition laws. By the early 1900s, the Liberty Bell machine was banned in his home state of California (Chereb, 1995).
Charles Fey partnered with Herbert Mills to circumvent these laws and create the Operator’s Bell machine, now known as the first fruit machine. It featured symbols of different fruits, and players who matched them received gum in that flavor. The initial fruit symbols used were plums, cherries, lemons, and oranges, with the bell symbol retained from earlier versions. (Mills Novelty Co, “History,” 2024)
Early Electromechanical Slots (1900s)
By the mid-1900s, several top gaming companies in the US were already experimenting with electromechanics in slots. The big breakout came with Bally’s release of the Money Honey slot machine in 1963. This invention featured a game-changing coin-counting tool called the electric hooper, which allowed it to automatically produce many more coins than previous classic fruit machines. (Bally Technologies, 2009).
