How To Design A World-Class Casino Game

Roger Snow's career as a casino game designer began with opening a bill. He was working at the Mirage Casino when he saw a $2,000 bill from Shuffle Master for a game called Let it Ride. The man has since become Executive Vice President and Chief Product Officer of SHFL Entertainment, formerly known as Shuffle Master. We will walk through his methods of how to design a world-class casino game!

How it All Began?

Snow was quite surprised when he saw the bill because, on the one hand, a company owned the game, but on the other hand, the casino paid for it. When Snow realized that the Mirage and other casinos were paying $2,000 for each Let it Ride table, he decided to figure out a way to do the same. He started working at Shuffle Master in 2000. There was no one at the company who designed games, so Snow tried his hand at it. His first game was a four-card poker, which has since become one of the most successful games in the company's history. Similar to slot machines, the table games that Snow has created are also based on mathematical formulas. However, Snow, a former journalist, is not very good at math, so he works with mathematician Eliot Frome who chose to apply his knowledge in the gambling industry. He followed in his father's footsteps, Lenny Frome, who was a nuclear scientist, but we refer to him as the Godfather of Video Poker. Snow and Frome jointly developed Ultimate Texas Hold 'Em, Four Card Poker, Crazy 4 Poker, and Dragon Bonus.

How to Design a World-Class Casino Game?

There is no such college faculty or degree. Sadly, there is no course you can apply to, even though hundreds or more people are trying to create new casino games. There is no standard protocol; you just fall into it. Some game developers claim that this just happened to them, for example, when they're standing in the shower, and suddenly, a brilliant idea hits them.

However, not everybody works like that. Not every game developer has Eureka moments. Some, like Roger Snow, sit down and try to come up with such-and-such ideas and casino games. According to online casino sites in Germany, he gives himself deadlines like coming up with a new game from noon to three the next day. It's a rather tedious and frustrating process, but it happens with many other professions as well. 

His Newest Games

Some of his latest works include House Money Blackjack, a side bet where the player wins or loses after the first two cards. In traditional blackjack, the game is over at this point. You can choose to collect the money or add it to the original bet. He studied blackjack side bets and asked himself, what people can't do with them? He realized that in either case, you can't add it to your original wager. That's how he came up with the idea. It is one of the most popular products in SHFL Entertainment's history.  It's available in Washington, California, and Nevada. In Las Vegas, it's already at the Cannery Casino, and it's coming to the Wynn soon. The other is Face Up Stud Poker. He sat down and asked himself what he can do that is different from what he has already done. Check out his newest game at Bovada Casino! His method is to look for something that hasn't been done before, what is really unique. As you can see, a certain level of knowledge of the existing games is needed. You can only create a new casino game if you know the rules and flaws of the others.

What Happens after you Develop a Game?

There's something people don't understand about this business! The probability of success is small. There are no statistics on this, but out of every hundred games that make it to the casinos each year, only one survives. SHFL Entertainment’s average is slightly better but not even close to 50-50%.

That is why Snow considers himself lucky that his first game was Four Card Poker, which became one of the greatest games of all time. If it hadn't been successful, he probably wouldn't be doing this now. However, he gave it a shot, and luckily, it worked.

Ideas that Failed

Snow did not always have genius ideas. He had a game that had a terrible name. It was called Pai Wow Bonus. It was a unique game of pai gow. In pai gow poker, there are 53 cards on the table, and 49 cards are always dealt, regardless of the number of players at the table. However, four cards always remained. Pai Wow Bonus was a game for these four cards, though it was a mess.  Snow also had a game called Rabbit Hunter that fell through recently. It was a standard five-card poker game, but you could buy an extra card. It worked well in the test games, and they thought it would be very successful. They even made advertising t-shirts which ended up as car wash rags. There is no shame in failing sometimes. As you can see, even the best failed at some point. Just keep trying and keep an eye on online casino sites in Germany!

How to Design a World-Class Casino Game?

People would be surprised to know how little they know about their users. Probably, the players who take gambling seriously stay away from these types of games. The reason is that gamblers play against a statistical advantage. It is an unshakable mathematical formula that cannot be defeated. Don’t forget that the house always wins! You might win for an hour, a day, or a week. However, the longer you play, the more likely you will lose. It's what we call gambling, ladies, and gentlemen!

According to Snow, what happened with Ultimate Texas Hold'Em, which is the fastest-growing game here in recent years, was that a lot of people wanted to be poker players. However, it's not as glamorous a world as you see on TV. You can go grey very quickly if you don't know what you are doing. Plus, have you ever played poker? It can be pretty monotonous with not a lot of action. However, casino operators have described Snow’s games, similar to slot machines, as an adrenaline rush, which is quite appealing! Check them out at Bovada Casino! So, if you want to become a casino game developer, the best advice on how to design a world-class casino game is to go for something exciting! SHFL Entertainment develops games that are unique and provide a certain mathematical probability. You can win or lose a lot very quickly. There are games in which you have to risk a lot of money in order to win money. It's all about the adrenaline. Like in blackjack or poker, there's that big pile of money, and you hope you're going to win it, but you're not sure. Then the last card comes out, and it's either euphoria or disappointment, but getting there is full of excitement. That's what gambling is all about. 

Does Snow Play His Own Game?

Snow shared a funny story where he played Crazy 4 Poker at the Mirage one time! He was sitting at the table when a player and the dealer started arguing about the rules of the game. Finally, he cut in and took the player’s side. However, the dealer stood up for himself and claimed to know the rules just fine, to which Snow pulled out his business card and said that he created this game years ago. He is not making a habit of this but still enjoys playing every now and then. They think it necessary to market research because you have to be there to learn about players and dealers. 

How to Design a World-Class Casino Game?

Many potential game developers thought things out very well, but their ideas were too much for the gamblers. They make the error of overcomplicating their games. Sometimes less is more! Keep in mind that most gamblers are average people, and sometimes they are also a bit drunk by the time they play. Successful games require a little complexity and should be interesting, but still remain gambling games. The player must be able to understand why they win or lose.  How to design a world-class casino game? To sum it all up, to start cooking up new casino games, you need knowledge about their rules. Then try to find their weaknesses and figure out how to turn them around. The games could include dice, card games, roulette, etc. The point is to create a new or additional game that is challenging enough to draw attention but simple enough for everyone to grasp the idea. Asking a computer genius for help would only speed up the creative process. Check out the other famous and unknown creators behind casino games!

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