Queenie was a popular girls name in Victorian Britain, particularly in the East End of London and is sometimes used as a chummy, affectionate version of the word 'Queen'. In today's review, it refers to one of the most eccentric characters in Lewis Carrol's tale Alice in Wonderland, the Queen of Hearts. This Queen of Hearts is no stranger to the reels, having starred in numerous slots before now. This one is brought to us by Pragmatic Play and partner Wild Streak Gaming and gives players a moodier representation of the infamous Queen alongside such extras as a feature wheel, jackpots, plus free spins.
Wild Streak Gaming slots tend to have a dated look about them, and Queenie is no exception. It has a similar look and feel to other games of theirs we've crossed, Gold Party being one example that came to mind. If they're built to look this way on purpose or not, who can say, but the graphics will probably turn prospective players on or off within moments. If you like games to appear older before their time, then Queenie may well delight. However, if you prefer a more contemporary look, then Queenie may well struggle to catch your eye. The same goes for Queenie's gameplay too, which shares the same dated feel.
Lifting the curtain on the machine driving the show, we find a highly volatile math model, producing a theoretical return to player value of 96.51%. Playable on any device, the action happens on a 5-reel, 3-row game panel, which provides 243 ways to win. Stakes range from 25 p/c to $/€125 per spin and comes with a feature buy function to skip the base game - where available.
Starting from the leftmost reel, matching symbols pay left to right, and need at least three of a kind to do so. For the low paying lot, we get 9-A card ranks, possessing the same value of 1x the bet for five of a kind. Moving on to the premiums, there are pocket watches, crowns, top hats, the Rabbit character, and the Queen of Hearts paying out 2-10x the bet for five of a kind. The big red heart symbol is the wild and appears on reels 2, 3, or 4. One thing it does is substitute for all other symbols, while its secondary function is to occasionally trigger the wheel feature.
Following on from the previous point, whenever a wild symbol hits, there is a chance the wheel feature activates. When it does, a wheel partly hidden behind the reels comes into view and spins once, to award:
When this is activated, cards appear all over the screen, and players click them one at a time. When 3 matching jackpots have been revealed, the corresponding prize is paid. The four jackpots are the Mini, Minor, Major, and Grand, worth 20x, 50x, 200x, and 4,000x the bet, respectively. There is a chance of revealing a Boost card. When this happens, the jackpot amounts are increased by a random amount of 5x to 800x the total bet.
If the feature wheel stops on a free spins segment, the number of spins displayed is awarded. The rules are pretty much the same as the base game, except when a wild symbol hits, it always triggers the feature wheel. This means that free spins can be retriggered if won from the wheel.
Where applicable, players are able to buy free spins for the cost of 100x the bet. When bought, the feature wheel spins to determine how many free spins are awarded.
Queenie is not without some charm, but it will definitely help if you appreciate Wild Streak's particular style to recognise it. For one, the darker, more grown-up presentation of Alice in Wonderland makes a change from the psychedelic cartoon approach studios often take. Half the time, we kind of forgot we were playing an Alice game; the steely-eyed unblinking gaze of the Queen was a tad unsettling. There are touches, though, such as the Rabbit, the Card Soldiers and so on, making Queenie a minor celebration of Lewis Carrol's work.
One star of Queenie is the heart symbol. It lands quite often but teases a lot in the base game since there is no guarantee it will trigger the wheel feature. When it does though, the game steps up and most of the prizes it awards go on to do something special. Not hugely special; this is no White Rabbit or Plunderland, after all. Despite being able to win up to 50 initial free spins from the wheel, not to mention score some pretty large multipliers and mid-range jackpots, Queenie payouts max out at 4,200x the bet. Still, there is amusement value here for hardcore Alice fans or players into the sort of physical, older style of play the Wild Streak/Pragmatic Play collabs often turn out to be.
Unfortunately, that doesn't really include us. Queenie simply failed to set our hearts a flutter which may or may not be ironic given the subject matter. If you really like the idea of repeat wheel prizes during free spins, fair enough; it's just there are better options out there in terms of both Wonderland theme and Jackpot style gaming.
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