I really do like House of Fun but in writing this detailed review I had to be brutally honest because there are things that I really wish they’d change – and one thing that I think hurts them the most.
This app has been around for seven years now and they’re extremely popular. Their Playtika rewards feature, the great selection of slots, and the side games are all things that keep players coming back.
Most of the slots are video style and all have great graphics. The app is easy to use and there aren’t annoying 3rd party ads.
But they score low when compared to Jackpot Party Casino and I’ll get into why that is in a bit.
House of Fun Detail & Review Score
First, let’s look at the data.
| House of Fun | |
|---|---|
| Slot Giants Score | 78.8% |
| # of Slots | 252 |
| Free Spin Bonus Slots | Yes |
| Bonus Coins | 10,000+ |
| Daily Free Coins | 8,000+ |
| 3rd Party Ads | No |
| Level of Ad Annoyance | Low |
| Friend Coin Gifting in FB | Yes |
| Minimum Bet | 100 |
| Level Unlocks Required | Yes |
| # of Levels | 814 |
| Side Features | Yes |
| Screen Layout (scale 1-5) | 4.5 |
| High Dollar Slots | No |
| Auto Spin Feature | Yes |
| Multiple Account Option | Yes |
| Cost of Additional Virtual Coins | $4.99 for 18,000 |
| In App Community | No |
| Compatibility | iOS, Android, desktop |
| Date Launched | 2/24/2013 |
| Creator | Playtika |
| Headquarters | Herzliya, Israel |
| Support Options | Yes |
| Facebook Page | Facebook Page |
| YouTube | YouTube |
| Addiction Support Opt Out Option | No |
New Player Bonus
I’ve played this app for many years (many times deleting it and then going back) so I had to start fresh with an install on my Windows 10 laptop to get the perspective of a new player.
Upon loading you’re given 10,000 bonus coins. With a minimum bet of 100 that provides 100 spins.
You’re forced to make a spin on a slot called Bank of Jackpots as part of your introduction to the app. There’s no way to get around that and while you do have to start somewhere it felt odd not to manually select a slot to play.
That first spin at the minimum bet gets you 20% completion of level 1 and after that first spin you can choose to go to the Lobby and look around the app.
At that time you can collect a few other bonuses, too.
The first bar in the timed bonus is ready to collect for an additional 1,000 coins and there are some messages in the inbox that grant you free spins, an option to subscribe to their email list for another 5,000 coins, and if you choose to connect to your Facebook account you get yet another 5,000.
I skipped subscribing and the FB option as I have those on my other account but after all the other bonuses and free spins I had a total of 14,736 coins – or enough for 147 spins at the minimum bet.
This is the first item in my review scoring model that brought down my final rating for House of Fun. I’d prefer it if they gave new players enough to make at least 200 spins.
My initial spins of 147 were partly the result of the payouts won playing the 25 free spins given in one of the inbox messages. I assume there’s the potential for those spins to result in an amount lower than I received which means a new player could end up with even fewer spins at the start.
That being said, the process of downloading the app and getting started went smoothly.
Game Selection
In terms of overall game choice House of Fun has one of the best selections. Their total count of slots at this time is 252.
All of them are video style and most have a horizontal layout but there are a few that are vertical on handheld devices. They do show you when you need to rotate your screen.
Some of their slots have bonuses that are triggered only when you’ve collected a certain number of items to fill a meter. It can take awhile to earn the required items. I find those games a turn off because I often want to leave the slot before I’ve reached a bonus but I feel invested in reaching the goal.
My guess is that is exactly why they’ve included these kinds of slots. They’re “sticky” meaning they keep you coming back. It’s an emotional tug they hope makes you stay with them.
Many of these save your progress, though, so you can go back later and finish filling the meter at a later time.
The selection covers a broad set of themes, too, including Roman, Egyptian, animals, sevens, fantasy, and warriors.
I do like the slot choices and there are plenty that I consider favorites such as Zeus & Hades, Fairy Bliss, Gorilla King II, and Hot Hot Vegas.
There are plenty of progressive jackpots, too, but landing them can be a challenge. I have had them on a couple of the games mentioned above so I know it’s possible.
Free Coin Options
House of Fun makes sure that you have something to play with every day – but it’s not overly generous.
There is a timed bonus at the bottom of the screen with four segments and a wheel. Each of those requires 3 hours before it becomes collectible.
For new players each segment gives you 1,000 coins and the wheel can give you more depending on your luck. That adds up to a minimum of 8,000 coins per day IF you collect them on the dot every three hours. Most aren’t going to do that so you really get fewer than that.
Your inbox can also show messages that offer free coins or free spins. In fact, if you leave the app for awhile (months maybe?) and go back to it you might find a gift of 100,000,000 coins and that is HUGE. I’ve had that twice now.
It’s possible they assume that if you’re willing to leave them for that long that it’s going to take something massive to keep you the second or third time around but it makes me wonder what happens to people who have purchased virtual coins instead of quitting the app for awhile. Are they never seeing this bonus? One would hope that paying customers are more greatly rewarded in some other way but I can’t say whether that is happenin on House of Fun or not.
You can also watch videos to get free coins, collect them from some of their social profiles, and there is almost always some sort of side game that can result in free coins.
I find these side games both difficult to complete and annoying. I’m sure some people like these but the way they’re presented in House of Fun can sometimes override your screen while you’re playing and they’re slow to play. I’m too impatient.
The amount of available daily bonus coins is another reason this app scores lower than Jackpot Party Casino. The daily bonus alone does not provide you with as many spins.
You do have the opportunity to earn a higher “status” in the app (see the Playtika Rewards section further down) which increases your daily award amounts but as you level up the minimum bet also increases so this isn’t always as big a benefit as it sounds.
Leveling Up & Unlocking Slots
Speaking of leveling up, House of Fun has 814 levels at the moment. Each spin you make earns points towards the next level.
Moving up is easy when you’re new but each level has a higher goal and takes longer to reach.
It takes only five spins to go from level 1 to 2 as each spin completes 20% of the goal. However, by level 4 each spin at the minimum bet only completes 2% of the goal. That would require 50 spins to move just from 4 to 5.
After years of play including several gifts of 100,000,000 coins (and maybe I’ve purchased about $20 in coins over the years?) I’m only at level 600.
It takes three to four levels to unlock new slots, too.
But don’t be deceived – House of Fun has slots that are unlocked mixed throughout the side-scrolling list of available games. If you don’t pay attention you won’t realize that there are about 25 slots open to you by the time you reach level 5.
I can only assume they do this so that you’ll have to scroll by the locked ones in order to reach the open slots and maybe you’ll see something that intrigues you. Maybe that will encourage you to work harder towards leveling up so that you can unlock that favorite.
Either way, this is not a player-friendly approach, in my opinion. New players may miss that other slots are unlocked. I would think you’d want them to more easily see what is available to play.
If you are new to the app make sure to scroll through the entire list of available slots to see all the unlocked ones.
Ease of Use
The app itself is easy to use and the colors are nice and vivid. Most players won’t have to squint to see any detail on the screen even on a mobile device.
All buttons and tabs are pretty self-explanatory and you have access to settings, can see your level information, there is an in-app link for support, and the buttons interact well.
I have three issues with their functionality, though.
First, some slots require an additional download step before you can play them. Some of these slots need to be downloaded again after an update. This is a bit annoying. I’m sure it has something to do with keeping the game size as small as possible on your mobile device but then why are some slots automatically already downloaded?
A slot that is shaded means it needs to be downloaded. The shading also makes the name of the slot hard to read, by the way.
Some locked games don’t show that they require this download step while others do. If it’s not unlocked I haven’t played it so why would it not need to be downloaded, too?
It just doesn’t make sense to me.
Second, some of the side games and quests have notifications or symbols that momentarily cover part of a slot screen while you’re playing. That drives me absolutely crazy.
Third, getting into a slot, while still relatively fast, takes just a fraction of a second longer than it does on some other social casino apps. Perhaps that’s just the cost of offering so many slots to play so I haven’t held this against them but thought it was worth noting.
Entertainment Factor Overview
Anyone who plays social casino apps is looking for entertainment and that isn’t defined by simply spinning the reels.
It’s based on being able to play slots you like AND having some big wins.
Several years ago I found it extremely difficult to keep coins on House of Fun. Big wins were few and far between. There was quite a stretch where my daily bonus coins were gone within minutes and I was left disappointed.
I think they’ve made some slight changes over time so that today is a little different. I have had more large wins than I’ve had in the past. Perhaps they finally responded to overwhelming feedback on this area in the Google Play and Apple stores.
In-App Ads
House of Fun does not currently show 3rd party ads but they do have a number of in-app ads for their own products and features.
These do not normally come up on slot screens which is a plus – only on the home screen. I say normally because I did just have one today but it was for an opportunity to participate in a new feature. They may be testing out some new in-slot notifications vs only home-screen notifications.
Compared to other apps the ads are not overly annoying and all have an X you can click to close them down quickly but you may have to close up to five of them at one time.
Coin Purchases
As with other social casinos you can buy virtual coins to continue playing if you’ve run out.
House of Fun has a number of coin packages but I use the $4.99 package when scoring the app. Most have this price option and it’s probably a popular choice.
This price might buy you anywhere from 18,000 coins on up. The non-sale number of coins is usually crossed out and a larger number of coins is shown indicating a sale price.
When reviewing these apps I don’t give them credit for the sale price offer – only for what they show as the non-sale number of coins. Many use this “sale” tactic.
It’s a marketing ploy to make you think you’re getting a better deal than you are and none of them deserve extra points in my scoring model for using this technique.
Not only that but the offers may be different for each user and can change day by day.
Yesterday the new account on my laptop showed $4.99 for 18,000 coins but that was crossed out and the sale was for 72,000 coins at the same price.
Today that same account shows $4.99 normally buys 36,000 coins (not the 18,000 that showed yesterday). That was crossed out and showing it would now buy 144,000 coins for that price (not 72,000).
When I closed the screen they offered a downsell option for 72,000 coins with a regular price of $10 but now on sale for $2. Anyone who purchased the $4.99 option for 144,000 coins may not see the lower offer and could end up overpaying.
I don’t like that and find it misleading. I understand their goal is to make money and a smart company should be testing out different offers to find which offer the best returns but I think there are more ethical ways of presenting coin purchase offers.
This and the fact that your daily free coins don’t go very far are really what drove down my overall review score for House of Fun.
Playtika Rewards Review
This app offers another benefit called Playtika Rewards. This is a loyalty program created by the makers of the app.
Leveling up and in-app purchases in six of Playtika’s apps award Playtika points. These apps currently include House of Fun, Slotomania, Vegas Downtown Slots, World Series of Poker, Caesars Slots, and Bingo Blitz.
The points are used to move you from one “status” to another (Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Royal Diamond, and Black Diamond).
A higher Platika Rewards status adds multipliers to in-game benefits such as your timed bonus.
These points have NO monetary value. You can’t use them anywhere else nor can you trade them for anything.
Your points also reset at the end of every calendar year which pushes you to play more (or spend more) in order to reach the same status to which you’ve become accustomed.
It is currently the middle of December 2020 and I’ve earned a Platinum status this year with 465 Playtika points. I’ve done this only through leveling up as I have not purchased any coins in the past 12 months. I’ve also only played this one Playtika game this year and no others.
To reach Diamond level I need 250,000 points or 245,535 more points than I already have for the year. I’ve never reached Platinum nor will I ever likely reach that level in my lifetime.
Getting to Platinum is hard enough. Getting to Diamond level would be a supreme and potentially costly challenge.
House of Fun History
House of Fun is a social casino app created by game maker Playtika out of Israel.
Since their inception they have changed hands twice. They were first purchased by Caesars Entertainment Corporation in 2011 and then by a Chinese investment firm in 2016.
At least one of the original founders is still with the company. According to their website the company has over 3,500 employees worldwide.