History
History of the Random Runner fruit machine
We can, with confidence, say that the Random Runner is the most popular slot machine in our country. It’s well-known, and has been popular for years. The brain behind this slot machine is a company called Rouvoet. This company launched the Random Runner in 1988. Rouvoet changed its name to Errel, which to this day is a part of Novomatic/Eurocoin/JVH Games. In the rest of this article, we’ll tell you a bit more about Novomatic.
The slot machine rose in popularity mainly during the 90’s. In this time period the Random Runner could be found almost anywhere; in gambling halls, cafes, and even many Chinese restaurants. It took a lot of players several hours to win anything on the machine, so it’s hard to explain how the machine became so popular and loved amongst many. It was difficult to win a lot of money in a short amount of time. The “Random Runner” was a machine that was hit-or-miss at all times, and some people even nicknamed the machine “Peak machine” (a slot machine that is very addictive, because you need to play for a long time to actually cash out).
After 1996
Then, begin 1996, something strange happened; the machine disappeared almost completely. In hindsight, its disappearance can be explained by new laws that were introduced in this year. There were certain elements to the Random Runner machine that were now, suddenly, illegal. One of these new laws stated that the “bottom game” could only be played with a bet of 1 coin, and that the “top game” could now only be played with coins that the player earned through the game itself. This changed everything, and “Random Runner” could not keep up with these new laws.
With Random Runner suddenly being illegal, several different companies started producing slot machines like the Random Runner, but legal. One of these companies is the “Errel” company, who produced the Classic Runner and “Atlantic City”. Both slot machines abided to the law, and thus were perfectly legal. They were an exceptional replacement to the once so popular Random Runner. Luckily, the Random Runner did not disappear forever. It still lives on, and can be played on the internet.