Playtech’s stable of games jumped to the 50-plus mark with the release of Silent Samurai, a 5-reel 9-line decent game for those whose inner ninja is feeling a little relaxed. The Japanese design is attractive, even if the symbols once again in slotland are predictable enough.

Here they come, the familiar earnest young samurais (they trip the bonus round in rows one and five), the inevitable geisha, the coin with a square hole, the very Asian golden dragon, the Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10 sequence ... by the way, should anyone out there be able to enlighten us on the meaning of the sixth-lowest paying character, we’d be pleased to hear from you; the Japanese used to be great but it’s got a bit rusty lately.

The game’s background music is pleasant enough, with understated and ethereal vaguely Asian-sounding cascading tones. The payoffs are decent, with 100/1 odds on five geishas appearing. And as you’ll know if you’ve read Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden, five geishas in the one spot is an awful lot of fun. Oh, and beware the now nearly mandatory bonus round, apparently herein called BONUS. If you must bet, remember: go red. In this case, blood red.