Voting for the 2023 iGB Affiliate Game of the Year Award is still open, and this time it is up to the public to have their say!
A while ago I explored 5 of the games on the shortlist, and as promised, today I’ll have a look at the remaining 5 before I’ll choose my favorite game and cast my vote.
To recap, the games that were shortlisted for this coveted award are:
- John Hunter & The Book Of The Fallen (Pragmatic Play)
- Fishin’ Pots Of Gold (Gameburger Studios)
- Secret Of Dead (Play’n Go)
- Gonzo’s Gold (NetEnt)
- Fishin’ Frenzy: The Big Catch Megaways (Blueprint Gaming)
- Leprechaun’s Luck Cash Collect (Playtech)
- Links Of Ra (Slingshot Studios)
- Solar Queen Megaways (Playson)
- Dragon King Legend Of The Seas (Red Tiger)
- Return To Paris (Betsoft Gaming)
1. Leprechaun’s Luck Cash Collect (Playtech)
Follow-ups are always a tricky business and this is clearly seen in Leprechaun’s Luck Cash Collect because although it is the sequel to the somewhat dated Leprechaun’s Luck, the two games are not very similar at all.
The original was jam-packed with features with the added benefit of a progressive jackpot while the modernized version focuses solely on the Cash Collect Feature, but let’s give it the benefit of the doubt.
The reels are set against the Emerald Isle, and of course, there is a rainbow displayed in the countryside backdrop. To be honest, I have seen better visuals in the Irish Luck genre but what makes this slot stand out is the Bonus Round where the Cash Collect Symbols become walking to help you trigger the Jackpot Feature or the Bonus Round.
Leprechaun’s Luck Cash Collect from Playtech
Cash Collect Leprechaun’s Luck Slot Features
Premium symbols pay 2.5x to 6x your stake while the 4-leaf clover Wild substitutes all regular pay symbols to help trigger a winning combination but what’s interesting is that the wild holds no value of its own which means that you’ll need to rely on the Cash Collect feature to rake in the big bucks.
In the base game, the Cash Collect Symbol can only land on reel 5 and when it does, it collects all Cash Coin Symbols as well as the Diamond Jackpot Symbols (if any). If you do happen to land Diamond Jackpot Symbols, you will be awarded 1 of 4 fixed jackpots randomly:
- Mini: 20x your stake
- Minor: 50x your stake
- Major: 200x your stake
- Grand: 500x your stake
You can also trigger the Bonus Round by landing a Cash Collect Symbol, with at least one Plus Number Symbol anywhere on the reels that will give you Free Spins equal to the value displayed on the triggering symbols.
And, last but not least, when the Cash Collect Symbol lands on all 5 reels during the bonus round, it moves one to the left on each spin until it moves off the grid.
Leprechaun’s Luck Cash Collect (Playtech)
Quick Facts
- Title: Cash Collect Leprechauns Luck
- Developer: Playtech
- Reels: 5
- Rows: 3
- Paylines: 30
- RTP: 95.38%
- Max Win: 500x
- Volatility: Medium
- Min/Max Bet: €0.10/€500
- Release Date: Jan 04, 2022
- Where to play: Bitslot.io Casino (Welcome Bonus: 150% up to 2 BTC)
2. Links Of Ra (Slingshot Studios)
Slingshot Studios, a Microgaming partner, has had a well-deserved, solid success with their fantastic branded GoT effort (Games of Thrones Power Stacks), and Links of Ra seems to be very similar. Not in terms of the theme but both the features and math models are just about the same.
Egypt-theme slots can often feel a bit overused so it was nice to see the animal deity symbols, which are visually fantastic and a nice break from the usual visit to the Giza plateau. Let’s look at the features.
Links Of Ra from Slingshot Studios
Links Of Ra Slot Features
The regular symbols pay 5x to 7.5x your stake for five of a kind while the Game Logo Wild pays 25x your stake for landing the same, and the bonus round is triggered when landing 3 scatters on the same spin, which awards you with 15 Free Spins.
Interestingly, the Bonus Round plays out identically to the base game but the Free Spins are boosted by a 2x multiplier and I also found it interesting that all Wilds tend to land stacked.
There is also a Power Stack Feature that is triggered on random spins where a randomly chosen regular symbol will land Super Stacked. These symbols can appear on all reels but the Wild and Scatter symbols do not qualify for this feature, which would have made this feature so much more exciting.
But, there’s more.
The Link&Win Feature is triggered when you land at least 6 Coin Symbols, anywhere on the grid, which locks these symbols in place. You then get 3 respins, and if you happen to land new sticky symbols during the free rounds, the respin tally is reset to 3 again.
There are also 4 Jackpots up for grabs:
- Mini: x20 your stake
- Minor: x100 your stake
- Major: x500 your stake
- Grand: x2,500 your stake
If the Link&Win Feature is triggered in the bonus round, all coin prizes and jackpots are doubled, giving you the chance to possibly win the max prize of x5000 your bet.
Quick Facts
- Title: Links Of Ra
- Developer: Slingshot Studios
- Reels: 5
- Rows: 4
- Paylines: 40
- RTP: 94.23%
- Max Win: 25,000x
- Volatility: High
- Min/Max Bet: €0.20/€200
- Release Date: May 20, 2022
3. Solar Queen Megaways (Playson)
Playson arrived rather late to the Megaways’ party, but when they released Legend of Cleopatra Megaways alongside the licensed BTG engine, it instantly became a hit. And, it seems that follow-ups are in fashion at the moment because (again) Solar Queen Megaways, is a remake of the somewhat successful Solar Queen.
It is basically the same game with the exception of the upgrade of the dynamic reels experience but I found the winning potential disappointingly low compared to other Megaways slots because 3,874x your stake is not exactly what Megaways players are after.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s really not an unworthy slot but I just find it a bit uninspiring, and ambitious-less.
Here’s why.
Solar Queen Megaways from Playson
Solar Queen Megaways Features
When the Special Sun Symbols appear anywhere on the reels, they are replaced by a Flaming Frame that stays in place for 10 spins. After the 10 spins, all Flaming Flames are then replaced by wild symbols, and when bets are changed a new spin cycle begins. However, any previous progress is saved if you return to the same bet level.
There are also Multipliers that are triggered when a Special Sun symbol lands in a position that already has a Flaming Frame which will increase the Win Multiplier by +1. After the 10th spin, the win multiplier is reset to x1 but if the free spins retrigger, the multiplier is carried over and becomes the starting point multiplier for the bonus rounds.
And, like the Flaming Flames Feature, the multipliers are saved at each bet level when you are switching bets.
The Scatter is symbolized by Scarab Symbols and landing 3 awards you with 10 Free Spins. During the Free Spins, Sun Symbols transform into sticky wilds when landing on the reels, and again the multiplier increases by +1 if the Sun Symbols land on a cell that is already occupied by Sticky Wild Symbols.
And, if you’d like to buy Free Spins instead, you’ll be able to 10 for the hefty price of 100x your stake.
Quick Facts
- Title: Solar Queen Megaways
- Developer: Playtech
- Reels: 5
- Rows: 2-6
- Paylines: Up to 7,776
- RTP: 95.85%
- Max Win: x3,874
- Volatility: High
- Min/Max Bet: €0.20/€100
- Release Date: Oct 29, 2021
- Where to play: Bitstarz (No deposit bonus: 100 free spins. Bonus code: BCK100FREE)
4. Dragon King Legend Of The Seas (Red Tiger)
Yes, as one would expect, this is a dragon-themed slot and I must say, Red Tiger went full-on to create this Asian-style addition. There’s not much going on in the base game, to be honest, but if you manage to trigger the special features, I do believe you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Dragon King Legend Of the Seas Features
It’s a basic 5×3, 10 – payline slot that only gets some traction when the initial 9 Dragon Spins are triggered by landing 3 or more Dragon Spins Scatters. Landing additional scatter awards 3+ spins to a maximum of 15 during which a Stacked Dragon Wild appears on the middle reel, substituting all regular symbols.
There is also a win multiplier attached to the Dragon Wild depending on the number of triggering scatter which means that 3, 4, or 5 triggering scatters will award you with x2, x3, or x5 respectively.
During the Bonus Round, the wild remains active and moves one place to the left during every spin. But in this slot, it reappears on the furthest right reel after it has left the reel on the left side, while the multipliers stay intact.
And last but not least, it has a Gong Feature that awards you either Free Spins (8 max) or increases your win multiplier (8 max) when Dragon Spins land on the reels during the Bonus.
Dragon King Legend Of The Seas from Red Tiger
Quick Facts
- Title: Dragon King Legend of the Seas
- Developer: Red Tiger
- Reels: 5
- Rows: 3
- Paylines: 10
- RTP: 96%
- Max Win: x1,800
- Volatility: High
- Min/Max Bet: €0.10/€10
- Release Date: Oct 05, 2021
- Where to play: mBit Casino (Welcome Bonus: 9 BTC + 300 Free Spins)
Return To Paris (Betsoft Gaming)
When I saw this slot, I couldn’t help to go all the way back to 2011 to dig up another Betsoft release – A Night in Paris – which made some serious waves at the time but has since simmered into memory lane. And, no, it wasn’t based on what you’re thinking right now.
Instead, it’s about a thief and a cop chasing him, and in Return to Paris, nothing has changed much. You still get multipliers when the thief steals symbols, and the goody-two-shoes cop still resets the multipliers.
The cop and robber antics go on in the base game until the two meet anywhere on the grid to trigger the Wild Explosion that triggers the Bonus Round. This Endless Heist Bonus Round can go on for eternity or until the cop manages to catch the burglar but it is capped at 1000 Free Spins at the most – which is not bad at all.
But I was quite surprised to see the win potential at only x1,056, which is surprisingly low in this day and age, even for a medium variance slot. Maybe the features make up for this, let’s take a look.
Return To Paris from Betsoft Gaming
Return To Paris Slot Features
The wild is the most valuable symbol and as always it steps in for all the regular symbols. Landing 5 on a payline awards 25x your bet while 5-of-a-kind premium symbols pay 2.5 to 10x your stake.
My favorite symbol is the thief because when he lands anywhere on the reels, he steals a random symbol and adds it to his collection (which is shown at the bottom of the grid), and this increases the symbol multiplier by +1.
The stolen symbol is then replaced by another symbol and as the Policeman symbol returns the stolen items to the museum, the symbol multiplier is reset to x1 again.
Only 1 Policeman and 1 Thief Symbol can be present at the same time, and when these symbols are adjacent, the sparks are bound to fly as the Wild Explosion Feature is triggered.
This feature sees the Policeman, the Thief, and all adjacent symbols turning into Wilds, which obviously increases your chances of bigger payouts.
Return To Paris from Betsoft Gaming
And, the fun continues with the Endless Heist Mona Lisa Feature that triggers Free Spins when you land 3 on reels 2, 3, and 4, and what makes this feature so spectacular is that it does not come with a fixed amount of Free Spins.
During the Free Spins, the Policeman and the Thief start in opposite corners on the grid and move around randomly across the grid on every Free Spin.
Like in the base game the Thief continues to steal multipliers until the Policeman eventually catches up with him to arrest him. You can get up to 1000 spins, and again, when the feature ends, the Policeman returns all the stolen goods to the museum, which effectively resets the multiplier tally to x1.
What an action-packed game of cat and mouse! It’s awesome!
Quick Facts
- Title: Return to Paris
- Developer: Betsoft
- Reels: 5
- Rows: 3
- Paylines: 20
- RTP: 96.06%
- Max Win: x1,056
- Volatility: Medium
- Min/Max Bet: €0.20/€100
- Release Date: Mar 31, 2021
- Where to play: King Billy Casino (Welcome Bonus: 1 BTC + 250 free spins)
And I’m going to vote for…
Most, if not all of the 10 games are worthy of this list, but as always there can only be one winner.
For me, a good slot is all about entertainment, graphics, and a good storyline with great features. Obviously, the winning potential is a big deal, but if you want to win a substantial amount of money, you’ll need to bet substantial amounts.
I personally lean more towards medium volatility slots, which are super fun and engaging because I might just as well enjoy myself whilst aiming to rake in a decent profit.
So, therefore the trophy goes to……
(suspenseful music playing)
🏆 Return To Paris from Betsoft Gaming 🏆
You can go vote too!
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