Weird & Wonderful Casino Games around the World
While you may find your standard games of poker, blackjack and the ever-popular slot machines around the world, there are a number of different live casino games that are a little quirkier that you may want to try out. Whether you’re in the US, Europe or Asia, there’s plenty of options to choose from in both main casinos, and the smaller variations.
While you’re unlikely to find an online version of some of these games (particularly the animal-orientated ones), as the demand isn’t quite as high as the likes of online slots, they truly are a novelty to enjoy if you happen to be nearby. Without further ado, we’re taking a closer look at some of the world’s weirdest and most wonderful casino games for you to try!
Pachinko, Japan
If you’re looking for bright lights and lots of sound, then head to a pachinko in Japan. While these are generally compared to pinball machines, there are a few locations where you can actually place a few back-handed bets on these incredibly popular machines. Gambling in Japan was only legalized towards the end of 2016, with plans for casinos currently being confirmed, but that doesn’t mean that a few Japanese citizens didn’t take to the pachinkos! These mechanical games are a cross between old-school games and gambling devices, and this niche is so popular in the country that it has even been compared to the love of slot machines in the West!Bird Song Betting, Belgium
If you’re looking for a form of gambling in a land-based casino that you can’t find anywhere else, then head to Belgium and check out their bird song betting! The concept is simple: birds will be located in cages within the casino, and players have to bet on which bird is going to sing the loudest and which is going to sing for the longest. This is an exciting betting option, whether weird or not, and is a popular addition to Belgian casinos. Each bird is sat in individual cages, and they take it in turns to sing for the punters. Place your bets – it’s not over until the fat bird sings!The Chicken Challenge, Atlantic City
How good are you at noughts and crosses? Unbeaten amongst your fellow friends and family? Champion amongst your colleagues at work? Well, why not try a game against the world’s reigning champion ‘Ginger’. Make your way to Atlantic City to take on this tactical genius, and get to grips with the commandeering presence of the tic-tac-toe champion. There’s one catch though… Ginger is a chicken. No, this isn’t a joke. At the Tropicana Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, you can face Ginger in a game of noughts and crosses, in order to be in with the chance of winning a huge cash prize of $10,000. Be warned though – Ginger doesn’t cluck about when it comes to her challengers! Having toured casinos around the United States, she defeated almost everyone in her path. Do you think you can take her on?Rodent Roulette, Worldwide
There seems to be an animal pattern in this list, doesn't there? While this has been flagged up by number of animal rights activists, if you’re not afraid of mice, gerbils or other rodents, you might want to have a go at rodent roulette. There are many different variations of this particular game, with some ‘casinos’ using gerbils and others using different rodent species, however the concept is the same. A rodent is placed on a box within a roulette wheel. The roulette wheel contains a large number of boxes (all of which are numbered in the same way that a standard roulette wheel is), and when the wheel is spun, the furry creature will walk around the wheel and decide which box to hide in. The box that the rodent chooses is the winning number, and the game starts again!Dreidel, Worldwide
Dreidel is a four-sided spinning top generally played by the Jewish community during Hanukkah. This particular variant is similar to the European game ‘teetotum’ and is played in Jewish homes all over the world. However, as Dreidel is traditionally a gambling game, where many families will place bets with each other using raisins, small change or other forms of betting, some casinos around the world are actually offering Dreidel as a cash game in some special, smaller betting rooms. Learning how to play this game is simple. In order to start, all players have to put their cash into a ‘pot’ in the centre of the table. The four different sides to the Dreidel stand for four different things:- Nun – this means ‘nothing’, so the player who has spun the top will receive nothing
- Gimel – this means ‘everything’, meaning the player will receive everything in the pot
- Hey – this means ‘half’, and, you guessed it, the player receives half of whatever is in the pot
- Shin – this means to ‘put in’ meaning you have to place an additional wager into the central pot