Last updated: 11-07-2026
Starburst has no free spins, no scatter symbols, and a 500x max win that looks tiny next to almost everything else in Fair Go's catalogue — and it's still one of the most-played pokies in history. That's not a contradiction once you understand what this game is actually built for. It's not a max-win hunter's pokie. It's the steadiest, most predictable thing on the site, and there's a specific practical use for that. Here's what I found testing it.
Win Both Ways — the mechanic that quietly doubles your coverage
Starburst runs a simple 5-reel, 3-row, 10-payline layout, but with a feature that's easy to undersell: Win Both Ways. Every one of the 10 paylines pays both left-to-right and right-to-left simultaneously, effectively doubling your coverage across the same fixed set of lines without costing anything extra. It's a quiet mechanical advantage that a lot of players don't register consciously, but it's a meaningful part of why this game's hit frequency runs so high for a title with such a modest ceiling.
The symbol set is straightforward — coloured gems in purple, blue, yellow, green, and red, alongside BAR and Seven symbols rounding out the higher-value end, plus the Starburst jewel Wild. There's no scatter symbol anywhere in this game, which is worth flagging clearly because a lot of players go looking for one expecting a familiar bonus trigger that simply doesn't exist here.
No free spins — the expanding wild re-spin IS the feature
This is the detail that catches new players out most. Starburst has no traditional free spins round. Instead, when the Starburst jewel Wild lands on reel 2, 3, or 4, it expands to cover the entire reel and triggers one free re-spin. If another wild lands during that re-spin, it triggers another — up to three re-spins can chain together from a single wild landing sequence. That re-spin chain is the entire bonus feature; there's no separate scatter-triggered round layered on top of it.
If you're used to pokies with a distinct free spins bonus, this can initially feel like the game is missing something. It isn't — the expanding wild re-spin chain was Starburst's whole design from the start, and it's part of why the game plays fast and simply compared to titles with multi-stage bonus structures.
| Version | RTP | Volatility | Max win | Mechanic | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starburst (original) | 96.09%–96.10% | Low | 500x | Win Both Ways, expanding wild re-spins | This review — the classic 2012 release |
| Starburst XXXtreme | 96.26% | High | 200,000x | Multiplier wilds | Same theme, completely different risk profile |
| Starburst Galaxy | 96.00% | Medium-High | 25,000x | Cluster pays, expandable 5×5 to 7×7 grid | Sits between the original and XXXtreme in risk |
Author's tip from Mitchell Harris, Casino Reviewer & Online Gambling Researcher: "If you saw '200,000x max win' attached to Starburst somewhere and were expecting that here, you're thinking of XXXtreme. This original version tops out at 500x — check which version is loaded in the lobby before setting expectations based on something you read about a different game with the same name."
Built for mobile from the start
Starburst was released in November 2012, and it's worth noting it was one of the earlier titles genuinely designed with mobile play as a first-class consideration rather than a retrofit — at a time when a lot of online pokies were still primarily built for desktop and adapted afterward. That design choice shows in how cleanly it still scales to a phone screen more than a decade later: simple grid, clear symbols, no dense multi-stage bonus overlay competing for space.
That mobile-first origin is part of why it's remained so consistently popular across more than a decade — it was genuinely comfortable to play on a phone from day one, well before that became the default expectation for new pokie releases.
The symbol paytable — simple by design
Starburst's paytable is deliberately uncomplicated: five coloured gems (purple, blue, yellow, green, red) make up the bulk of the symbol set, with BAR and Seven symbols sitting at the higher-value end, and the Starburst jewel Wild rounding things out. There's no scatter symbol and no bonus-round-specific icon to learn — every symbol on the reels either contributes directly to a payline win or is the Wild driving the re-spin feature. For a player new to pokies generally, Starburst's symbol set is about as simple as this format gets, which is part of its broad, longstanding appeal.
Why this is the pokie casinos use for welcome free spins
Starburst's combination of low volatility, no complex bonus round to configure, and near-universal recognition among players is exactly why it's become one of the standard choices operators reach for when offering welcome free spins. Its simplicity means there's nothing unpredictable about how the promotional spins will play out, and its high hit frequency means players see action quickly rather than sitting through a string of dead spins before anything registers.
That same profile makes it a genuinely sensible pick if you're specifically trying to clear wagering requirements on a deposit bonus rather than chase a big win. Low volatility and frequent small wins move through a wagering requirement more predictably than a Very High volatility title where you might burn through the requirement's worth of spins without landing anything at all. If you're clearing a bonus at Fair Go and want a steady, low-drama path through the wagering, Starburst is a reasonable pick specifically because it isn't trying to be exciting.
The Starburst family — original, XXXtreme, Galaxy
Worth being clear about scope. This page covers the original 2012 Starburst — Low volatility, 500x max win, no scatter, re-spin-based feature. NetEnt (under Evolution Group ownership since 2020) has since released Starburst XXXtreme, a completely different risk profile with a 200,000x max win, High volatility, and multiplier wilds replacing the simple expanding wild mechanic. Starburst Galaxy sits between the two, running Medium-High volatility with a 25,000x ceiling and a genuinely different cluster pays mechanic on an expandable grid.
These three share a name and a visual theme, and very little else mechanically. If you're after the classic, low-drama original described on this page, confirm that's specifically what's loaded — "Starburst" alone in a search or lobby listing doesn't tell you which of the three you're actually about to play.
What a session on Starburst actually looks like
Given the Low volatility and high hit frequency, a session here plays noticeably differently from most of the higher-volatility titles reviewed elsewhere on this site. Wins land often, in small to modest amounts, and the game rarely produces the kind of dramatic swing — up or down — that Very High volatility titles are built around. A A$50 bankroll at a A$0.50 stake here is likely to last considerably longer, spin for spin, than the same bankroll on a Very High volatility pokie, simply because losses accumulate more gradually.
Fair Go's account settings include deposit limits and self-exclusion tools if you'd like a hard stop in place, and players must be 18+. Want to see more of the catalogue, including higher-volatility options? Check the pokies page, or head to the homepage. Already registered? Go to login. New to terms like "volatility" or "Win Both Ways"? The glossary explains them plainly.
