Rainbow Riches Reels of Gold Slots
That’s right, we have another game in the long running and popular Rainbow Riches series. Although, rather than playing to the strengths of Barcrest’s previous efforts this is a whole new game. For the new slot, they have borrowed some things from their SG Interactive stable mate WMS. This is certainly showcased in the game structure as Reels of Gold is a 100-line colossal reel slot just like the Spartacus and Kiss slot machines!
Don’t be alarmed by the change as the big draw of the series, the maddening number of bonuses, is still very much in place. In fact, there are seven different features on the new Rainbow Riches Reels of Gold slot, with a variety of wilds, free spins and an unusual near miss mechanic which we really like. Those are in addition to the usual scatter triggered free spins feature.
No matter your favourite game in the series, from Pick and Mix to Leapin Leprechauns, you should find enough continuity of the theme here to keep you entertained.
Theme & Icons
So far as the way it looks, the huge 5x4 and 5x12 side by side reel sets do prevent some of the more elaborate work seen in the previous slots. Barcrest haven’t been lazy, there just isn’t much space around the reels! It’s still very colourful and has all the classic hallmarks of the Irish luck theme and the characters from the series so far. Icon wise there are 4-leaf clovers, horseshoes, harps, mushrooms and rainbows in the mix.
The cheeky grinning leprechaun is still the highest value symbol rewarding you with 500x your line bet if you manage to get 5-of-a-kind on an active pay-line – as an added draw he appears stacked just like the gladiators in the Spartacus slot or the band members in Kiss. Truthfully, it’s only the main character and the wilds which can really unlock big symbol wins. The wild in the new Rainbow Riches Reels of Gold slot is the game logo and, just like the other colossal games it transfers to the corresponding reel on the 5x12 grid when it first appears on the 5x4 grid.
Gameplay & Features
One thing this new Rainbow Riches Reels of Gold slot does retain from Barcrest’s game mechanics is the big bet feature. Here, you set an overall stake for group of five spins, as in games like Monopoly Big Event. When selecting the 10.00 credit option, any Rainbow Riches wilds that land on the main reel set will transfer to the 5x12 grid and expand. The 15.00 credit version does the same but you will get between 10 and 50 free spins if you light all of the 7 bonus symbols icons. The 20.00 credit option does all the above but in addition lighting only 6 bonus symbols icons will give you between 15 and 50 free spins. Last but not least at 25.00 credits also sees the same basic rewards however, lighting just 5 bonus icons will give you between 20 and 50 free spins.
The fairy doesn’t want to be outshone by the leprechaun that’s for sure. In the base game she offers 7 mini-features:
Super Stacked Wilds – The fairy waves her wand at the main reel set causing 1 or more reels to be filled with stacked Rainbow Riches symbols. The transfer to the 5x12 grid also happens as in a normal spin.
Magic Wilds – Here, on both reel sets joined sets of Magic Wilds appear. Theses scroll vertically on their reel and then lock into position - turning the reel section they cover wild.
Wild Burst – The fairy waves her wand at the screen and butterflies land on both reel sets. The butterflies then transform the symbols they landed on into wilds – though these aren’t stacked or expanding.
Wishing Well Bonus – We love this one as with this wand strike all the low paying heart, club, spade and diamond icons transform into Wishing Well symbols. These can then change into the higher value symbols, anything to get rid of the playing cards is good by us!
Reel Win Multipliers – This randomly occurs after a winning spin with a multiplier of 2x, 3x or 5x applied to your existing successful spin winnings.
Near Miss Free – Win when you lose! Randomly occurring, if you get 2 Free Spins bonus symbols, the fairy can strike the reels and add more scatters to trigger the main free spins feature.
Near Miss Win – Just like the former bonus the fairy strikes the reels, this time she causes them to shift in order to give you a winning spin. A little like the old auto-nudge to nearest win on classic fruit machines.
If all that weren’t enough action, bearing in mind that’s just the base game. The new Rainbow Riches Reels of Gold slot also has a separate free spins feature. It may not be the showcase entertainment wise, but, it is the easiest way to accumulate a one off big win. 3,4,5 or 6 bonus balloon scatters grants you an instant credit win of 10,25 or 200x (For both the last two) your bet. You then go to a pick win round where you get 1,2,3 or 4 picks depending on the bonus scatters you collected. More picks definitely give you a better chance of accumulating more initial free spins. In another novel function, before the free spins games end, you can gamble your way to more free spins or play with what you’ve been awarded so far.
If you decide to gamble, 5 wheels appear offering a differing number of free spins – if the arrow lands on green, great, you will win the free spins amount shown. If it lands on red however, you go back to the base game. Like any gamble game, it comes with a risk!
Summary
Got all that? Great! It sounds complicated but this marriage of Barcrest’s big bet mechanic and WMS’s colossal reel set really makes for a massive game. Long term play will show whether the pay potential matches but we feel pretty sure this game can quickly become the most popular title in the series.
