Lucky Leprechaun is a game that doesn’t have the most original theme out there, but it does have some decent potential thanks to its features, so all in all I’m glad that Microgaming released it. The theme choice is quite common, as are many other things that are considered lucky in some way, or connected to treasures. Since the leprechaun and his treasure are connected to the lucky Irish topic, both are mentioned in the game’s theme, with symbols including pots of gold, clovers and pints of Guinness.
5 reels, 20 lines and a chance to win a prize of up to $1,000, this is what the game offers. It might not feel like much, but there are also bonus games along the way, free spins and multipliers, stacked wilds and two types of scatters.
Features of Lucky Leprechaun
The feature list is one of the best things about Lucky Leprechaun, starting with the stacked wild, continuing with the scatter symbol, the free spins with multipliers or the second scatter that triggers the bonus game.
The stacked wild is one of the better features of this kind that slot machines will give you. Most slots will only have regular wilds, which occupy a single spot on the reel. The stacked wild comes with multiple connected symbols, but you’re not guaranteed that all of them will be showing. You might get one, two or three wilds on that reel, depending on your luck. The idea is that there is a much better chance of forming up combinations when you have stacked wilds, rather than regular ones. These wilds substitute for other symbols, but they also form their own combinations, awarding the top jackpot.
Free Games Feature
The free spins get started whenever the Clover scatter makes an appearance on the 5th reel. This symbol triggers only 5 spins and 2x multipliers, but the feature only needs one symbol to trigger it.
For the duration of these free spins, you have the Leprechaun symbol, which turns into a second wild. You still have the stacked wild from the base game, but you have this Leprechaun as well to help out.
While the free spins are used, you may see yellow or green clovers attached to the playing card symbols. The green clover grants one extra free spin, while the yellow clover increases the multiplier by 1x, the maximum possible being 5x.
Trail O’ Fortune Bonus Game
The slot’s bonus game starts up with assistance from the Pot of Gold scatter symbol. You need a minimum of three scatters to get things moving. Depending on how many of them triggered the feature, you receive 4 to 6 spins of the wheel in the bonus game.
The bonus game allows you to travel on a trail, each step of the path offering a different multiplier for the total bet. At the bottom, there is a wheel which will spin and show you how many steps forward you take. 3 to 5 triggering scatters will give you 4 to 6 spins of the wheel. The goal is to get to the last trail step, which is worth 1,000x the bet, or at least as close as possible to it.
You also find Emeralds along the way if you’re lucky, which will give you extra spins of the wheel, or you can go over rainbow bridges if you land in certain locations, which allow you to skip ahead.
Betting options and jackpots
The slot’s 20 lines are activated all the time, but you decide how much the line wager should be. The full betting range is between $0.20 and $20, using up to 200 coins. These coins are worth between $0.01 and $0.10, and you can use between 1 and 10 per line.
The biggest reward that you can get from a regular combo is 1,000x the line bet, or up to $1,000. The bonus game does promise payouts of up to 1,000x the total bet, or $20,000, but it’s not going to be an easy target to hit.
Design and symbols
The design looks at least OK, but since there are so many slots with an Irish theme it’s not that hard to find one that is even better. The features do make up for the slot’s shortcomings in the design department though. There are mountains and beautiful green pastures in the background, with Celtic themed playing cards, pints of beer, leprechauns and treasures among the symbols which were used.
Symbols: Logo (1,000x, wild), Pot of Gold (bonus), Clover (scatter), Leprechaun (800x), Violin (600x), Beer (500x), Pipe (400x), Ace (300x), King (250x), Queen (200x), Jack (160x) and 10 (120x).
Is It Worth Playing?
The game has its good sides, mainly when it comes to its features, but the theme choice, the design and the prizes are not that impressive. All things considered, I’d pass on it.
The Lucky Leprechaun slot machine is offered through the Microgaming platform, so if you want to play it for real or just to practice, look out for casinos that use it.
