It's been a while since an Irish slot passed our way, though for some reason these games tend to come in waves. If the theory pans out, brace for a bunch of leprechaun laden slots to filter through like drizzle over rolling green hills. This time it’s Pragmatic Play’s turn at the wheel, and they have managed to include a few twists to go with the usual sights. The reel setup is slightly unorthodox, if not brand new on their part, as is the collection feature as you will see. If you're up for a romp across the Emerald Isle, let's check what Celtic shenanigans Wild Wild Riches is capable of.
Irish slots are rarely subtle, and Wild Wild Riches is no exception. The 5 reel grid is set in the countryside, framed by a rainbow, and covered in the type of symbols you'd expect to find. Reels are set up in a 3-3-4-4-4 configuration, but the format isn't the biggest surprise. That would be the fact there are no leprechauns in the game, despite it being based around the gold at the end of the rainbow story. Irish fans needed worry though; there are plenty other familiar elements to fill the void. One is the pleasant soundtrack which switches pace depending on what's happening on screen, capturing the jolly spirit of the land nicely.
Wild Wild Riches is available on mobile, tablet, or desktop, offering bets from 25 p/c to $/€125 per spin. In direct contrast to the gentle tune is a highly volatile math model, rated 4.5/5 on Pragmatics informative meter. Whilst the volatile setting might sift out a few players, the default RTP of 96%-96.77% has a more universal appeal. There is a variation in the rating since players can activate an Ante Bet option which ups the stake to increase the chance of features triggering.
Pragmatic has made landing winners simple. There are no paylines; instead, three or more matching symbols in any row from the first reel create a winner. This equates to a total of 576 ways to win. Players get 9 pay symbols to line up, starting with the four card suits - spades, hearts, clubs, and diamonds. Premiums are more in touch with their Celtic roots, including mushrooms, pipes, horseshoes, harps, and mugs of beer. Landing five premiums payout from 0.8 to 8 times the stake.
The shimmering woven pattern is the wild, landing on the first two reels only to replace anything except the bonus or money symbol. Wilds are instrumental in triggering both of the game's features.
It wouldn't be an Irish themed jaunt without a pot of gold somewhere. In Wild Wild Riches, there are plenty on the reels, and collecting them requires the wilds to play their part. Let's look at how in the Money Collect Bonus.
On any of the larger three reels, pots of gold coins appear, displaying cash values of 1 to 25 times the stake. These symbols are joined on reel five by jackpot and multiplier symbols of x2, x3, or x5. The jackpot symbols relate to the values beside the side of the slot. There you'll see the Mini, Major, and Mega worth 50x, 100x, or 500x the stake respectively.
You'll understand why there are two 'Wilds' in the title now. To get your hands on these goodies, you'll need a wild on both reel 1 and reel 2 at the same time as the special symbols land on reels 3, 4, or 5. Pots or special symbols must be on adjacent reels to be awarded. For example, 2 wilds plus gold pots on reels 3, 4, and 5 will award all pots in view. However, 2 wilds plus pots on reels 3 and 5, only award the prizes from the third reel. This rule applies to the jackpots and multipliers symbols as well – there must be two wilds plus pots on reels 3 and 4 to activate them.
Next are free spins which technically increase your chances of triggering the Money Collect Bonus. It starts by landing wilds on reels 1 and 2, as well the bonus symbol on reel 3. This gives 10 free spins, with additional wilds and pots of gold added to the reels. In addition, 10 free spins can be retriggered in the manner mentioned above, no limits.
Lastly, you can technically increase your chances of features occurring via the Ante Bet option. By increasing your base bet by 20%, more wilds are added to the first two reels. The game claims this doubles the chance of features occurring.
Perhaps one of the strangest things about Wild Wild Riches is there isn't a single leprechaun in sight. Not one grinning over a pot of gold or sprinkling magic dust across the reels to trigger anything. Aside from this omission, Wild Wild Riches pours on plenty of Celtic imagery. You are certainly never in doubt as to the type of slot you're playing even without the jolly chap present.
One slightly new aspect is the Ante Bet option which wasn't as effective as it was hoped to be. During testing, the additional stake cost produced no noticeable change to the frequency of features. It could be that over a massive number of spins the difference is more apparent, but for the review it didn't seem to accomplish much. Pragmatic claim wins of 4,600 times the stake are possible, so any help cracking it is a bonus though. 20% extra for double the chance of features sounds like a bargain and it appears to affect the RTP positively too.
The altered grid is alright, it means more gold pots can appear on reels 3 to 5, though it does feel a tad gimmicky. If Wild Wild Riches played out on a 5x4 grid, it wouldn't be much, if any, different to how it is now. Then again, perhaps we shouldn't complain too loudly when a developer attempts creativity, especially in a category as saturated as the Irish one is.
As far as these types of slots go, Wild Wild Riches manages to stand out, to an extent. The features blend with the theme quite well, integrating the pots of gold myth in a logical way. You don't need to be an absolute Irish slots enthusiast to get a few laughs out of Wild Wild Riches per se, but it would help.
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